Dark
by Starlightlovesya123
Summary: When tragedy strikes, it feels as though the misery will never end for her. But when she makes some new friends, she realizes that hope might not be completely gone. Not yet, anyways.
1. Alone

It's so dark.

I'm so scared.

How did I fall into this nightmare?

Oh yeah. And it's all my fault.

Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks. I didn't know where I was exactly. Some alley in some city in some state. I wasn't sure. All I remembered was running. Running until my legs couldn't carry me anymore and the wracking sobs forced me to fall to the ground and just cry. Just cry for all things lost.

I lifted my head weakly and for the first time since I got here, hours ago, looked around. I was in a dark alley on the corner of… I squinted my eyes. Broad Street. I looked around, trying to find what city I was in. Not that it mattered anyways.

I sighed and squeezed myself into a little ball. I would sleep here for the night.

Sleep. Yeah, right.

***********

When sleep finally came I had known it would be terrible. But not like this. Not this vivid. Not this…real.

_"Starlight, RUN!"_

_Smoke and flames were everywhere. I could barely breathe. But that didn't matter._

_Where was Sonic?!_

_Where_ _was __my brother__?!_

_I sped around, terrified, searching desperately for any sign of the streak of blue that was Sonic._

_Where oh WHERE could he be?!_

_Had they caught him? No. No. I pushed that thought away quickly. Sonic was like my other half. It would be unbearable to live without him._

_I gasped and screeched to a halt as another tree came tumbling down in front of me. The flames sprang to ten times their size right in front of my eyes._

_I heard the shouts of my parents, trying desperately to hold off the Metarex, while I searched for Sonic. But it was practically impossible to see. I shouted his name over and over, each time becoming more and more afraid that I would never see his laughing emerald eyes again. _

_Suddenly…I saw him. My knees went weak with staggering relief and I rushed to him…_

_Only to get knocked aside by a giant Metarex arm._

"_Star!" My poor little brother shouted. But it was already far too late._

_The Metarex grabbed him as he tried to reach me. The speed with which those arms moved… _I shivered in my sleep._ He shouted as the Metarex pulled him away, throwing him into their ship. In two seconds, they were gone._

"_SONIC! NOOOOO!"_

I crashed headfirst into the next memory.

_We had given up far too early._

"_We have to keep looking!" I shouted at my parents._

"_Starlight…" my father began._

"_We can't just-!" I interrupted._

"_Starlight, please! Your mother and I…we can't…we just can't take it any more. We know it's just as hard for you as it is for us, if not harder. But, honey, we can't just keep holding on to this impossible hope. Starlight…Sonic is gone."My father gazed at me through old, tired eyes._

"_No!" I screamed now. "I refuse to believe that! Sonic would never give up that easily! Never!"_

"_Sweetheart, we know. We think…well, oh Jane how do I say this? Starlight..we… think the Metarex may… have killed him." _

_Tears welled up into my mother's eyes and she laid her head on my father's shoulder, sobbing._

_I stared at them, horrified. "How could you just… Just THINK? You just THINK they killed him? I want to know!!! I want to know if my brother is still out there, cold and alone, dying because WE aren't there for him!"_

_My mother sobbed louder. "Starlight…" my father warned me sternly._

_I was disgusted. I spat out the words at them, the words I would never forgive myself for._

"_I hate you."_

_And I burst from the house, running like the wind, anger rising up like bile in my throat._

Give in_, that voice whispered in my head._

_I tried to refuse, but my anger was too great. How could they? Sonic was their son!_

Yes, yes!_ The voice urged me on._

_I let go, letting the hatred fill me. I began to change. My bright yellow fur and quills turned to a dark, dark blue, almost black. My emerald green eyes, so much like Sonic's, turned blood red._

_The change was complete. Anger pulsed like power through my soul. It was fun for me to hate, pleasure to hurt, easy to kill. I was the other side of me._

_The wrong side._

Yes! Now we are free. Don't you see Starlight? They keep you from your full potential! Fill yourself with Dark! The power we will have will be unlike any other!, _she shouted._

No. Wait…_ I struggled, realizing too late that I had made a terrible decision. She brushed my struggling off easily. She was on the outside now, and __I__ was on the inside._

I know. Let's have some fun, shall we?_ I cringed at her words of pure evil. Why were they so tempting? Why was it so easy to give in?_

_She turned our body around, facing toward the trees. With a single movement of her hand, they caught fire. I recoiled, inside. She was so powerful…_

Hahahahaha! It feels good, doesn't it, Star? This power… _she narrowed her eyes as she thought. _This power should not be contained. It should not be forced inside. _A sadistic smile crossed her face._ Let's kill them, Starlight. It will be so easy! Like squashing a bug. Then we will never have to trap this power again!

No! No!_ I struggled harder this time. How could I have let her out?! I couldn't let her kill my parents! I had already lost so much…_

_She was already making her way back to the house. Her speed was blistering, twice as fast as I normally was. She was going to make it there. She was going to kill them._

NO! _I was no longer struggling but ripping my way out, determined. _I WON'T let you hurt them!

_She tried to push me back but she underestimated my strength. I heaved my way out, trying once more to regain control of my body. It was like punching through a steel wall. But I had to do it._

_She screeched in protest as I found a hole in the wall. _Get back where you belong!_ I shoved her back inside of me and I was once again in control._

_I panted heavily, exhausted. I heard her recede into the back of my mind angrily. _This is not the last you have heard of Dark,_ she whispered, then was silent. _

_I needed to get back home. I had no idea how long I'd been gone. An hour? Two? I had lost track of time. I started to run back to the house, suddenly feeling extremely guilty for what I had said._

_It was then that I saw it. That unmistakable ship in the sky._

_The Metarex._

_No no no no NO! I broke the sound barrier, rushing to get back home. Please please please please please, I prayed. _

_I skidded to a halt in front of the blazing fire that was my home. "Mom! Dad!" I screamed. It was losing Sonic all over again._

_Then I saw them._

_They were lying dead on the ground, under a pile of burning wood. Their blood stained the sand beneath them, their fur and quills shredded. _

Looks like someone beat me to it,_ Dark said smugly._

_And I ran._

I awoke with a start, back in the alley, tears streaming down my face. Oh why, oh why?

_Oh, stop bawling. We're better off on our own anyways. You always were fond of running away. _Dark's words hit me like a punch to the stomach.

_SHUT THE HELL UP!_ I screamed at her, forcing her to the very back of my mind, so I could have some peace.

And I laid on the cold asphalt ground and cried.


	2. Sonic

I woke the next morning, cold and stiff, shaking off the early morning dew that had gathered on my windbreaker. My stomach growled and I sighed. I couldn't ignore it anymore. I had gone for about two days-three?- without food, something my body couldn't take.

I slowly rose to my feet, my muscles aching in protest, and began to walk down the alley. The sun was beginning to peak up over the horizon and it cast shades of pink and orange across the sky. I drifted away into my thoughts, remembering a time when Sonic and I would watch the sun rise…and race one another to see who could beat it to the horizon. Of course, we could never really reach the horizon but, boy, did we have a time trying…

As I walked through the practically deserted streets I saw my reflection in a shop window. I would have started cracking up if I even thought I was capable of doing that anymore. I was a mess, my quills in disarray, my turquoise tank top and blue jeans torn and muddy, my windbreaker covered in sweat and tears. But to be honest, I really didn't care. I didn't care about too much at this point in time.

I finally found a McDonalds and walked in, my hands in my pockets, my head hanging low. I could feel people staring at me but ignored them. Dark growled inside of my head. _Stupid creatures, _she muttered.

I ordered a breakfast burrito and sat down alone at a table, staring out the window. I tried to keep my mind blank, so as to bore Dark and keep her out of my head, but failed miserably. I kept thinking of memories. They were the only things I had now. Sonic and I as toddlers, playing in the sand. My mother reading us bedtime stories. My father racing us in the park. Sonic's crush on the little bird who had lived next door. The day Sonic and I discovered how fast we could run… Dark was suddenly alert now, paying attention. I pushed her back, annoyed. I hated having her in my head. It just made it all worse, intensified the pain and the sadness and the anger.

_I don't like being in here any more than you do_, she grumbled. _It's all rainbows and butterflies…_

I sighed angrily, exasperated. Why couldn't she leave me ALONE?!!

I felt her smile smugly. She enjoyed making me angry.

Suddenly, the TV above me switched on. I lifted my eyes and began to watch the news, for lack of something better to do. I was beginning to look away, bored, when I heard the reporter.

"Once again our town was saved by a certain blue hedgehog, who…"

Blue hedgehog…?

I jerked my eyes back up to the screen and my heart skipped several beats.

Sonic?!

"Hi, everyone!" The blue hedgehog smiled and winked at the screen. His eyes were emerald green.

SONIC!

But…but how? I was standing up now, my chair having been thrust away and thrown to the ground. The other customers looked at me strangely but some watched the program too.

"Way to go for him! I swear there's been a decrease in crime since that little guy came here." A man said as he ate his breakfast.

Others knew about Sonic? I gazed around, bewildered. No one seemed exactly surprised about the program than me. I quickly looked back at the TV.

"We are reporting to you live from Station Square—"

I was gone in a blink of an eye.

_How is that little bitch still alive?! _Dark exclaimed as we ran.

I hardly recognized she had even said anything. I couldn't stop thinking about him. _Sonic, sonic, sonic, SONIC! He's ALIVE! _His name replayed over and over in my head.

I was running faster than I ever had before. Sonic was close! So close! I followed the street signs, drifting from sign to sign and finally skidded to a halt…and my legs gave out from under me.

Just feet away from me stood my brother. He was waving and smiling, enjoying the attention that the crowd that had gathered gave him. I couldn't help but let out a soft, short chuckle. Some things never changed.

Suddenly he noticed that there was someone lying on the ground in the corner of his vision. He whirled around. "Hey , are you-?" He never finished his sentence. Because he had laid eyes on me and had frozen in place. Just like me. Except everything inside of me felt like it was melting, warm and wonderful. For the first time in a long, long time tears of joy fell down my cheeks.

"…S-Star?" he stammered, utter disbelief on his face.

Tears flowed from my eyes like rivers and I nodded. I felt Dark's disgust at my maternal behavior but ignored it.

His face suddenly lit up, a picture of pure joy. "STAR!"

And suddenly he was in my arms and we were both practically shouting at one another. "I never thought I would see you again! What are you doing here? Why are you here? How did you get here? Oh, I can't believe it's really you!" all at the same time.

He broke away, laughing, and said "Alright. You first."

"Soni," I called him by his pet name. I remembered how he had always despised it but I couldn't help it. "Soni, how did you get here? What are you doing? And why didn't you come back?"

He laughed again and I bathed in the glorious sound of hearing it. "Alright, I'll tell you, but it's a long story. Why don't you come down to my place?"

"You have a…place?" I asked him, disbelieving.

"Uh…yeah." He said in a um, duh sort of manner. "I live here now, Star."

"You do?"

"I told you, come with me and I'll explain everything."

So I followed him home. It was so funny to see him. He was just like he had always been, casually strolling, care-free.

Dark was aggravated, but quiet, paying attention. I felt her trying to sort out how in the world he was still alive. I was the smug one this time. _We're stronger than you would think_, I told her. She snarled at me.

Eventually we arrived at his modest apartment. I raised an eyebrow. Modest? That wasn't like Sonic. Sonic caught my look and laughed as he turned the key in the lock. "Just wait." He reassured me.

When he opened the door I almost laughed. Of course, the walls were covered in racing posters and nearly everything was cobalt blue. Now, THAT was the Sonic I knew.

Sonic looked at me as I surveyed the room. "Oh you haven't seen anything yet, sis," he teased and showed me down to the garage. "You have a car?" I asked as he began to open the door.

I gasped. He had a car all right. A shiny, brand new, blue Ferrari.

"You like her? She's a beauty, ain't she?" Sonic said, proudly, as if he was a new father.

I let out a long whistle. "I'd say so. But how did you ever-?"

"It's so easy to make money in this town. Catch a criminal here, win a race there. No problem. I was able to buy this little baby easy." He interrupted.

I felt a twinge of jealousy. Not only was Sonic alive and well, but he was RICH. He was doing better than I ever could have imagined, and all of it he had accomplished without me…

_I told you that you were wasting your time bawling over him. Love's a game. You think someone needs you and then BAM they don't give a shit. He doesn't need you, Star, and we don't need him. _Dark said simply.

_But I do need him…_ I hated how weak my voice sounded. It felt as though the pain of loss had ripped away all of the confidence and strength I had once had.

Apparently Sonic had noticed. "Come on, smile will ya? Geez, Star, you look like you've been through hell and back again." He said, lifting my face to look at him.

_You have no idea._

***************

Soon, Sonic and I were sitting on his couch together, sharing stories. He explained that when the Metarex had captured him, he had escaped the holding cell with ease ("Heck, all it took was a single spin dash! Who do they think I am?") and had sneaked down to their main power center. He had found a way to shut down the power system and when the ship began to crash to the ground, had taken the last escape pod and landed here.

"At first, I searched everywhere for you, Mom, and Dad. But I couldn't find you anywhere near where our home was. I forced myself to accept the fact that the Metarex had probably killed you. It was hard at first and I didn't know where to go. So I came back here. I made friends, found my place here, and eventually regained my confidence. I knew that was what you would have wanted me to do." He smiled at me, winking.

I nodded, telling him of how we had relocated after his disappearance.

"Now, what about you?" Sonic asked, crossing his legs and grabbing a chili dog from the plate on the table in front of us. It reminded me of our childhood. We would have competitions to see who could eat the most chili dogs. Sonic had always won, of course.

"I, uh, well…" What could I say?

_Tell him the truth, _Dark urged. _Oh, and don't forget that it was all…YOUR...fault. _She smiled, knowing how those words pierced me.

I choked on the water I was sipping on. _No! It wasn't my fault…I had never meant…_

_And yet you weren't there to help them, were you? No, you were off, caring only about yourself._

_As if you were any help getting me back to them, _I snapped at her.

"Something wrong?" Sonic asked me, through a mouthful of chili dog.

"No, no. Just…tired. That's all." I answered quickly.

Suddenly the phone rang. Sonic answered it in a second.

"Hello?" A series of buzzing from the other line proceeded. "Yeah? Uh-huh? Cool! Oh, Tails, I've got something I gotta show you guys! You'll never believe it!" More buzzing. "Yeah, yeah. No It's a surprise! You'll just have to wait and see!" Sonic rolled his eyes. "No, Tails, I'm not going to get myself in any trouble. You sound like my mom!" He turned and winked at me. I winced.

He hung up the phone and smiled at me. "You wanna meet my friends? I mean I know you're tired but…"

"Of course I do! I'm fine. Besides, this is your sister you're talking about! When am I ever not up for some fun?" I tried to add some of the laughter into my voice that I used to have but once again, failed.

"Alright, then! We'll just head on down to Green Hill Zone. The guys want me to play some soccer with them. You can play too if you want."

I nodded, forcing a smile. Soccer would help me keep my mind off things.

_You just keep telling yourself that._ Dark said drily.


	3. Sleepover

When Sonic finished, it was pretty silent, as everyone took it all in. I just stared at my feet. Suddenly, the pink hedgehog came up to me. She smiled and said "I'm Amy Rose. But everyone just calls me Amy. I'm Sonic's girlfriend."

"Really?" I glanced sideways at Sonic, who groaned.

"Totally. You wanna meet everyone?" She asked.

"Uh, sure." I answered, as she grabbed my arm and started tugging me along.

Amy walked me right up to a lavender feline. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she wore a white tank and navy blue sweats. She smiled at me and said, "Hi. I'm Blaze."

"Hi," I answered back. "Starlight."

"Starlight?" Amy asked. "That's a pretty name."

"Er, thanks." I answered, looking back down at my feet.

Amy introduced me to everyone. There was Tails, the two-tailed fox, Shadow, the ebony hedgehog, Rouge, the bat and Silver, a white hedgehog with topaz eyes.

"Oh and over there? That's Knuckles." Amy pointed to the last of Sonic's friends, who was standing a ways away, next to Shadow.

He was a red echidna with a half moon crescent on his chest. I looked closer and realized that he had sharp spikes on each of his knuckles. He wore black basketball shorts and a red tee shirt. As I looked closer I realized that he was very handsome. Ge was gazing at me with curious ocean blue eyes. It made me feel nervous.

Suddenly Dark was very silent, in deep thought. I tried to see what she was thinking but she slammed down a wall between us.

"Well that's everyone!" Amy exclaimed, satisfied.

"Finally!" Sonic groaned and hopped up to his feet. "Ready for some soccer?" He asked me.

"Yeah, let's see what you've got!" Silver said, smiling over at me. I smiled back, hoping I was making a good impression.

Amy sat down on the sidelines as we divided into teams. "I'll just watch!"she yelled over to us.

We got ready for the game to start. I had Sonic, Blaze, and Knuckles on my team. Knuckles was goalie and I was defender, which made me nervous. I shook my head. Why did I care?

_Why __do__ you care?_ Dark asked, trying to make it sound like she didn't really care, but I could tell that she was curious. I pushed her away as the game began.

The ball sprang into the air and Sonic, Blaze, Shadow, and Silver all dove for it. Sonic got a hold on it and began pushing it down the field. He kicked it over to Blaze, who, wide open, made an amazing kick that flew right through Tails' fingers and into the goal. "Yeah!" She shouted.

The ball was in Shadow's possession now. I was extremely surprised when he was down the field in about a second. He was just as fast as Sonic and I!

_Pay attention, you moron!_ Dark was eager to get in some action.

I steadied myself as Shadow looked to fake past me. I whipped towards him and he faded to the left. He was good.

I felt some of my old energy rise through me. That ball was MINE.

Just as Shadow aimed a kick at the goal, I tornadoed into it, sending it flying back down to the other side of the field. Shadow watched it, then looked back at me, impressed. I smiled, shy once again.

Blaze had the ball now. She ran towards the goal, dodging Silver, and shot at the goal. A second later, Silver collided with her, knocking them both to the ground.

"Oh, uh….sorry, Blaze!" He apologized sheepishly.

Blaze didn't reply at first. Her face was against her arms and her whole body was wracking. "Blaze….? Are you all right? I'm really sorry…" Silver sounded worried now.

Blaze rolled over. She wasn't angry or hurt. In fact, quite the opposite. She was cracking up. Silver looked surprised, but smiled after a few seconds.

"You…(giggle)…you are the BIGGEST…(giggle)….IDIOT I have EVER….MET!" She was literally rolling back and forth laughing now.

Silver started laughing too. "I know, I know." He chuckled.

Soon everyone was laughing, except me of course. I looked around me, at all these new faces, and realized I was happy. Really, genuinely happy. For the first time in like, six months. It was like one big, happy family.

But then the memories came flooding back and I remembered I didn't deserve to be happy. Not after what I'd done.

The game continued and eventually we had to call it a tie. Everyone was exhausted, but Sonic, Shadow, and I, of course, so we walked back to the parking lot.

"You can stay with Blaze and I tonight, if you want," Amy told me.

"Uh…" I glanced over at Sonic. He nodded, encouraging. "Alright." I turned back to Amy and Blaze and twitched a small smile while they beamed at me.

I ssid goodbye to everyone, well, except for the red echidna. He was still looking at me strangely. It made me feel uncomfortable and, yet, well…good at the same time. I took one last glance in his direction, then went with Amy and Blaze.

****************

As we drove away in Amy's pink Porsche the girls began talking to me. "So, your Sonic's sister, right? You guys don't seem that alike." Amy glanced back at me through the rearview mirror.

Blaze elbowed her. "Amy, don't be rude!" she whispered.

"No, I know, you're right." I said. "Well, we used to be nearly exactly the same. But that was before…" I trailed off.

The girls waited for a few seconds for me to finish then realized I wasn't going to say anything. Blaze quickly changed the subject.

"You played a wicked game out here, girl. You've certainly got Sonic's talent!" She smiled back at me.

"Ya…thanks." I smiled back, then looked out the window. In the distance was that big, floating island. Something about it was just so intriguing. I decided to ask, so as to break the awkward silence.

"So what's up with that big island up there? Angel Island, right?" I asked.

"Oh, ya. It's pretty but not much more than that. It holds the Master Emerald, too. Knuckles is crazy about that thing. Spends night and day up there guarding it." Amy rolled her eyes.

"Cool," I whispered, looking back up at it.

Amy and Blaze exchanged a glance and giggled.

"What?" I looked back up at them.

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Amy suppressed another giggle.

We arrived back in Central City after a bit and drove to Amy's little loft. There were three bedrooms, so Amy said I could stay in one of them if I liked. I thanked her, then slipped into "my" room. I took a shower, washing away the grime and sweat, and pulled on some jeans and a shirt of Blaze's that fit me. I froze, listening, when I heard Amy and Blaze talking.

"Knuckles was awfully quiet, today." Blaze noted.

"I know. Did you see the way he looked at her?" Amy replied.

"I dunno. He hasn't looked at someone like that since when he met Shade. But even then, it wasn't quite as intense as this." Blaze pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. You know what? I think he totally has a thing for her. I mean, she's really pretty. But she's real quiet too…"

"Mm-hm. I don't know what's up with her. She isn't just shy, but she looks, well, depressed."

I sighed.

I stepped out of the room and they turned to look at me. "Hey!" thay said smiling. "We thought we would all sleep out here, tonight, ya know, get to know one another." Blaze said.

"Sure." I sat down next to them.

Amy switched on a chick flick. "I'll go get some popcorn," she said, and went over to the kitchen.

I did my best to try and be conversational now. I was tired of the shy and awkwardness. It wasn't like me. Or at least it didn't used to be.

"So, you guys live here together, all the time?" I asked.

"Yup. And since summer's almost over we'll be heading back to school soon." Blaze answered, leaning back on a pile of pillows.

"School?"

Blaze looked at me. "Oh ya, we forgot to tell you about school. It starts next week. WestOak High, down in Green Hill Zone."

Amy came into the room with a big bowl of popcorn. "Finally, there will be someone fast enough to keep Sonic from skipping classes." She laughed.

I chuckled slightly and I could tell it surprised the girls. "Sorry I, well, sorry I've been such a downer… It's just…" I started.

"Aw, don't worry. You must be overwhelmed, I'm sure." Amy said, grabbing a handful of popcorn. She had positioned herself above Blaze and I, on the couch.

I smiled at her. "Yes, it is rather overwhelming."

"You get used to it." Amy said.

"Especially with that little fuzzball zooming around day and night." Blaze snickered.

"He is not a fuzzball!" Amy jumped up.

"Oh, as if!" Blaze leapt to her feet too.

I was momentarily startled. Were they going to fight?

"AAHHH!" Amy shrieked and jumped down onto Blaze, whacking her with a pillow.

The two were in a rolling heap, laughing and hitting each other with pillows. Suddenly, I was hit from behind and I whirled around. Blaze grinned. I grabbed a pillow and threw it at her. Soon, it was a massive pillow fight and all of us, even me, were cracking up.

"Alright, alright! I take it back! I…haha…take it back!" Blaze squealed, still laughing, as Amy whacked her again and again. I grabbed another pillow and began whacking her too.

"Enough! ENOUGH!" Blaze shouted. Amy's pillow was instantly incinerated.

And of course that got us started all over again.

After a good ten minutes we all sat up, struggling for breath, clutching our aching bellies. "See…see, Star? Lighten up a bit and you…have a real…blast!" Amy panted.

I nodded, still just trying to catch my breath.

We began to watch the movie now and I realized it was getting late. About halfway through the movie, Blaze and Amy were fast asleep. I quietly turned off the movie and snuggled myself down into my sleeping bag. I twisted and turned. Sleep still didn't come easily. I sighed. The images were still far too vivid…my parents…broken…bleeding…I gasped, shaking off the memory.

I was surprised by how quiet Dark had been lately. Ever since we'd left the field…and Knuckles…

Knuckles. Why was I so interested in him? Or was that Dark's feelings? No. No, it was definitely me. But what did I care?

I got up and went to the window. I sat on the windowsill, gazing out across the dark landscape. The moon hovered in the sky, full, and beautiful. Next to it was that island. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I looked closer but couldn't make out much, other than a faint, strange glow. I stood up, curious. I had a sudden want to go and explore the island.

_Ya, sure._ Dark spoke up. _The __island._

_Huh?_ I asked, distracted as I gazed out the window.

Dark was silent but I could feel her smiling smugly.

I didn't know what she was talking about but some impulse caused me to quietly step outside Amy's loft and down to the street. Not really knowing what I was doing, I began walking towards the island.


	4. Greed

I continued walking towards Angel Island, absent-minded.

The crisp, summer night air swirled around me as I jogged, well, jogged for me.

Eventually, I reached the island. There was a bridge leading up to it. _Convenient_, I smirked.

I ran up the bridge, then stopped. _What was I doing?_

_Beats me_. Dark said, obviously lying.

I didn't bother asking her because I knew she wouldn't tell me. She was getting quite annoying lately. Not that she had ever been wonderful company to have around. I didn't even know where she came from. She had just kind of popped up the day Sonic had disappeared. Scared the shit out of me the first time. I thought I was going crazy.

I gazed around me. The island was gorgeous. And I mean it. There were flowers everywhere, some blooming now as the moon shined above them. The soft rumble of a waterfall could be heard in the distance. I whistled softly.

I walked, slower now. I looked around. The flowers were practically glowing and lush vegetation covered the patches that weren't swallowed by the flowers.

Suddenly, a greenish glow caught my eye. I slowly turned around and pulled back the branch of a palm tree. I gasped.

First, what I saw was…wow. It was this giant, beautiful glowing green emerald at the top of these ruins. Amy had said something about an emerald, hadn't she?

Second, Dark had gone crazy. I mean absolutely nuts. It was all I could do to keep my head from exploding. She wanted it so badly. _Let me have it_, her voice was even more menacing than usual, screeching yet very, very deep. Half snarling-half seducing. Trying to overcome me.

I clutched my head in pain. She was throwing all her strength against the wall I had slammed down between us. I didn't know why she wanted the emerald so badly, but I had a feeling that it wasn't for any good reason.

She pounded her fists against the wall and I cried out in pain. It was like a migraine, only about a hundred times worse. She forced my body to move closer, closer to the emerald.

I fought against her. Man, this was weird. Like beating up yourself. But Dark was nothing like me.

_Sure I'm not,_ she said between her teeth, struggling against me.

I was beginning to lose control. This was not good. No, definitely not good.

Somewhere in the back of my consciousness, I thought I heard a rustle from the bushes behind me.

"AAH!" I screamed and fell to my knees. Dark was hurling pictures at me. My parents' dead bodies. Sonic getting shot. Blaze and Amysick. Knuckles bleeding, dying.

_You sick, sick, terrible…_ I felt myself weakening.

_Hahahaha._ Her laugh was terrifying, crazy.

"What the-?" I heard a deep voice behind me and suddenly Dark released her hold on me. She disappeared into the back of my mind. My eyes rolled to the back of my head and everything went black.

**Sorry about the short chapter! But I wanted to leave it at a cliffhanger :D. So, please, please review!**


	5. Knuckles

**Sorry it took me a while to update. I've been pretty busy. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter! **

"Unggg…" I moaned, rolling over…then falling onto the floor.

"Ah!" I was up in an instant. "What the-?"

I surveyed my surroundings. I was in a…house. Specifically, a living room. I had fallen off a couch that was positioned in front of a TV. Oh, and I was wearing nothing but a robe.

"Uh…" Okay, this was a little weird. I didn't remember even walking into a house. The last thing I remembered was Dark practically ripping my head in two. I had never been here before. I walked over to one of the windows and peeked through the blinds. I saw a waterfall crashing down a steep cliff into a crystal clear pool. Was I still on Angel Island?

I looked around and found a doorway. I walked through it, glancing around me anxiously. I walked into a kitchen…and found Knuckles sitting at a table, gazing out through the window, completely absorbed in the waterfall outside.

"Um…" I started, unsure what to say.

Knuckles woke from his trance and turned around to see me. "Hi-" he started. Then his eyes widened.

I quickly pulled the robe tighter around my body. Okay, this was getting way too awkward. "Um…uh…Why am I wearing a robe?"

Ugh. Of course I ask the least important question that I could ask right now. But, naturally, it was the one I wanted to know the answer to most.

"Oh, uh, that…yeah…your clothes were wet so I-" Knuckles started.

Dark's words blurted out through my mouth. "Woah! You…you…you didn't?" She made me stare at him, horrified.

Knuckles' red skin turned about five shades darker as he guessed what she was thinking. "NO! I mean, no! No, of course not! I…it was my robot! I told him to…get you some…He, Tails…Tails made him for me, he doesn't have any eyes, you see, um…" Suddenly he burst from the room, leaving me feeling extremely awkward, extremely exposed, and extremely angry at Dark.

I heard Knuckles shouting in the other room. "I told you to give her some clothes! Not a robe! God! Probably thinks I'm some kind of…ugh! Stupid, stupid robot!"

He came back in about a minute later, an apologetic smile on his face. "Here," he handed me some clothes. "There's a bathroom over there. Sorry about…well, yeah."

I nodded, biting my lip, and as soon as he finished I sped towards the bathroom and changed. "Oh. My. God." I washed water all over my face.

_You IDIOT! _I shouted at Dark. _How could you ever think he…ugh!_

_It certainly wouldn't surprise me. The way he was looking at you…_

_I don't even know what you're talking about! God! Can't you just LEAVE?! Find someone else's social life to ruin!_

_Trust me, I would. You are soooo boring. _

_UGH!_

I finished changing and washed my quills so that they at least looked presentable. Then I anxiously walked back into the kitchen, where I was presented with a delicious smell.

"Uh, hey." Knuckles smiled at me, crookedly. My heart suddenly beat faster. His smile…it made me feel…happy? No, it…it was something deeper. Something I had never felt before.

I smiled back shyly, still embarrassed about the recent event.

"You must be starving. You want an omelet?" He asked me, pointing his thumb towards he stove, where he was already cooking one.

"Sure. That would be…great." I sat down at the table, then looked back up at him. "What happened last night?" I asked. "I hardly remember anything."

Knuckles came to sit beside me. This was the closest the two of us had ever gotten. I studied his face. He had a short snout which ended with his nose. His cheeks went up when he smiled, and he had pointy teeth. They weren't like the scary, rip your head off kind though. They were strangely calming and yet, they made me want to laugh. His smile was just plain goofy. But I loved it. I shook my head. It made no sense.

The best part about his face, though, was his eyes. They were like oceans and sapphires and skies all mixed in one. I mean, wow.

Dark snorted. _You are pathetic._

_Yeah, well at least I care about __someone!_I snapped back.

_I care about me. _She said simply.

_Really? I had no idea._ I replied, sarcastically.

"Well," Knuckles began to answer my question. "I dunno, it was kind of weird… I had just gone into the house to grab something and when I came back out, you were there. You were screaming and clutching your head. And like…er…talking to yourself."

_Oh. Great. Now he thinks I'm a psycho._ I sighed.

_Who says you aren't?_ Dark replied.

She laughed as I slammed her to the back of my mind.

"Oh, yeah…um…what was I saying?" I asked, anxiously.

"Something about 'no, no, I won't let you', then 'no it's mine', then 'you sick, terrible', and then you started laughing like a maniac." Knuckles gazed at me, and I could tell he was suppressing the urge to laugh, himself.

_Please. Just kill me now._

"Oh…really? I…must have been sleep walking. Yeah, sleep walking, that's it." I scratched the back of my head as my cheeks turned red.

"All the way to Angel Island?" Knuckles eyed me, disbelieving.

"Um…" I stared at the floor.

Knuckles laughed. It was deep and low and friendly. It made me look up and smile at him. "It's alright," he said. "You don't have to explain anything to me."

"Thanks." I said.

"But you also don't have to hide anything." He said, quieter now. "I…I mean…oh, shoot!" He jumped up as the smoke alarm went off.

Suddenly, we were both drenched. The sprinklers above us had gone off. Knuckles frantically took the omelet off the stove, as it was now on fire, and doused it in the sink. The alarm stopped as did the sprinklers.

For a few seconds we just stared at one another, soaking wet, our hearts racing. Then we started cracking up.

"I'm…I'm sorry!" Knuckles exclaimed as he came over to me with a towel, still laughing. "I'm such an idiot!"

"No, it's fine, really. I've experienced plenty of fires in my life. Let's just say, Sonic isn't exactly the greatest cook." I smiled, drying myself with the towel.

Knuckles laughed harder. "Yeah, we all figured that out a few weeks back when he tried to bake a cake for Silver's birthday. Not a pretty sight."

I chuckled. That was Sonic, alright.

We eventually settled down at the table, after Knuckles made me another omelet, despite my protests. I chewed, savoring each bite. It was ham and cheese-my favorite.

"You like it?" Knuckles smiled.

"Love it." I said between bites.

"So…about last night. Anyways, you dropped to the ground when I came out of the bushes. Your clothes were drenched with sweat so I told my robot to get you some clothes and…yeah, so that's pretty much it."

"Yeah. I…dunno about last night. I…wasn't feeling great. Migraine." I lied. "Anyways…so, you live here?"

"Yep, always have, always will. It's my duty to guard the Master Emerald." Knuckles replied, reclining in his chair, his legs crossed, his arms behind his head.

"That's cool. You ever get bored?" I asked.

"Sometimes. But I help the guys out with Eggman a lot, so that helps relieve the boredom."

"Who's Eggman?"

"Oh yeah, Sonic hasn't told you yet. He's a fat evil genius who looks like Teddy Roosevelt."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Don't ask."

"I won't."

"What about you?" he said.

"Um…not much, really." I replied, searching for something to say.

_Liar._ Dark accused.

"I was…separated from my," I gulped. "My parents, and so I began searching for Sonic."

"Oh. I'm…sorry."

"No, it's ok. I've…gotten over it."

_Woah! Now that's going a bit extreme .Hun, you are the farthest from 'gotten over it' that I think is physically possible._

I sighed. I hated it when Dark was right.

"Are you sure about that? 'Cause, no offense, but you don't really look like you've gotten over it." Knuckles said.

I looked back up at him. How did he know? He read me like a book.

"Yeah. I lied. I have definitely not gotten over it." I smiled sadly at him.

He chuckled. "It's ok. I understand. Lost my parents too. Mom died when I was 10. Dad sacrificed his life for me when I became Enerjak. It was hard, having that guilt. But it ended out ok."

I stared into his beautiful eyes. He understood. How amazing that felt. How amazing it felt when I was with him. I felt…safe again. Forgiven. Myself.

My thoughts were interrupted by loud rap music coming from outside.

Knuckles rolled his eyes and stood up, looking out the window. "That would be Sonic." He said.

Sonic's blue Ferrari pulled into the driveway, vibrating from the music. Knuckles and I walked outside.

Sonic's tinted window rolled down and he lowered his sunglasses, smiling at me. "Thought you might be here." He shouted over the music.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Knuckles shouted back.

"Nothing, nothing." Sonic chuckled. "You cool, sis?" He turned down the music and looked at me.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered.

"Good. I got something I wanna show you." He said. "Hop in the car."

I hated to leave Knuckles, but I couldn't say no to my brother. I opened the passenger door, then turned back to Knuckles.

"Thanks." I said, genuinely.

"No problem. Catch you around. Oh, and, uh, try not to sleep walk." He winked at me.

I smiled and climbed into the car.

As Sonic pulled away, he turned towards me. "Sleep walking? What's that all about?"

"Oh nothing, nothing." I winked at him, giving him a taste of his own medicine.

"Well, Knuckles certainly perked you up, didn't he?" Sonic teased.

I elbowed him, but smiled.

**************************************************************

Soon we had pulled into Sonic's driveway.

"Okay, close your eyes." He told me.

"What? Why? Wait…what are you going to do to me?" Oh, no. I was not falling for this again. Sonic had already made me make a fool of myself in 2nd grade.

Dark laughed. _Oh yeah, that was pretty funny._

_You weren't even there._

_Remember, I can read your memories._

_Oh yeah._ I replied irritatedly.

"No, really. It's nothing like that. I promise." He said.

"Okay…" I gave in. No one was around. What was the worse he could do?

He led me forward and then stopped. "Ok. Open."

I opened, slowly, anxiously. Then I gasped.

Sitting before me was a yellow Lamborghini.

"Oh. My. God. You have got to be kidding me."

"Happy home-coming, sis."

**Ha ha. Hope you liked it. Please review! Thanks so much!**


	6. School

**Here we go, Chapter 6! Hope you all like it! Tell me if I'm too depressing or whatever. I really need your opinion! Thanks again!**

I drove into the school parking lot, feeling more self conscious than ever.

Why, oh why did Sonic get me a Lamborghini?!

Sure, it's absolutely beautiful and like the most amazing present I've ever gotten but it doesn't exactly help you blend in when on the first day of school you drive up in a bright yellow, brand new Lamborghini.

I swear every eye, every single eye, was on me when I stepped out of that car.

I stared down at my feet, locked the car, and continued to stare at my feet as I walked into the school office.

"Why hello, sweetheart! You must be Starlight!" The secretary greeted me as I walked up to the counter. She was a snow leopard, oddly enough, with violet eyes, and a kind face. She wore a black women's suit and skirt.

"Hi. I needed to get my schedule." I replied.

"Yes, of course." She began to dig through some files. Finally, she found the right one and opened it, showing me my classes. She showed me each location on a map. The school was huge. Great.

Dark wasn't paying much attention. This was all extremely boring to her.

I made my way through the hall towards my first class- Algebra. I had always hated Algebra.

People shot glances at me as I walked. I heard them whispering. The new girl. Sonic's sister. Quiet. Strange.

But a few welcomed me. Not necessarily in the way I wanted, though.

A group of porcupines walked towards me, with their shorts all sagging and gold chains hanging from their necks, trying to look all gangster. All they achieved was looking stupid. But that didn't mean I was going to get in their way.

I tried to sneak past them but the apparent leader of the group grabbed my arm. My heart sank. Here we go.

"Hey, hey, where do you think you're goin'?" He asked me. He was green with strange hazel eyes and all black clothing.

"Hey, we got ourselves a pretty one." The purple porcupine beside him said as he grabbed my other arm. I struggled against their hold.

"Nice ass," The leader winked at me and brought me closer to him. "You want to come home with me tonight, hun? I promise I won't bite." He smiled smugly. I recoiled from the disgusting smell of the alcohol in his breath.

"Hey! Get off of her!" Strong arms ripped me out of the porcupine's grip.

"Knuckles?"

Knuckles snarled at the porcupines, and then pulled me away. "Where's your first class?" he snapped.

"Uh, room 202…" I glanced at him, puzzled.

"Stupid, stupid porcupines…think they can do whatever they want…yeah, yeah…I'll give 'em what they deserve…" Knuckles muttered to himself, still pulling me along.

"Uh, Knuckles…?"

"Hmmm?"

"We passed room 202."

"Oh. Right."

He stopped, his cheeks turning slightly pink, then led me back a few doors to the Algebra room. "Well, uh, here you are."

"Thanks." I smiled.

"No problem. Oh and, uh, stay away from Jared, the porcupine, okay? He's nothing but trouble." He said. Then he turned away and was soon lost in the crowd.

I stared after him for a few seconds then shook my head and took my seat next to Silver in the Algebra room.

"Hey!" He greeted me, grinning.

"Hi." I replied, setting my books down.

"Phew!" Blaze said as she raced in just before the bell rang. She sent an apologetic smile to the teacher (who, by the way, was an elephant. Could things get any stranger?), then rolled her eyes and sat down by Silver and I. As the teacher greeted us all she leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"Hey, I saw Jared trying to score with you earlier. He's an idiot, but, why didn't you fight back? I mean, come on, you could have whipped him easy!" She said.

Silver leaned over. "Yeah, Knux had to come over and saaaavvvve you!" He raised his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

I turned to look at him, suprised. "What? Oh, no, I…"

"Don't listen to Silv. He's a dumbass." Blaze interrupted. Silver snickered and leaned away.

"Anyways, answer the question. Why didn't you?" She asked me again.

I rearranged my books, keeping myself busy so I didn't have to look her in the eyes. "I don't know, I just…didn't want to."

The truth was: I was scared too. Not only was I just, well, not myself these days but I also didn't know what Dark could do. She could manipulate me with ease if I gave her the chance. She could hurt someone. And despite how disgusting those porcupines were, after all that had happened I didn't want to cause myself or anyone else anymore pain.

"Star…this is high school. Like it or not, you've got to be able to fight things out for yourself. It's hard out there, and you're no average hedgehog. You're beautiful and fast and Knux isn't always gonna be there to make sure-" Blaze was interrupted by a snort from Silver.

"Judging from the look on his face this morning when he saved you, Star, I'd say he's always gonna be there!" He laughed when Blaze elbowed him in the ribs.

"Miss Blaze! Mr. Silver! Miss Starlight, I appreciate that you are trying to make friends but I would rather if you would wait until after class. Now please pay attention." The teacher scolded us, then turned back towards the chalkboard and continued writing equations. I ripped off a piece of paper and scribbled on it.

Thanks, Blaze. Really. And I know. You're right. I'm just, well, I'm just adjusting.

I tossed it over to Blaze, who read it. She looked up and smiled at me sympathetically. I smiled back, reassuring her I was fine.

_Yeah, sure you're fine. You would have beaten up those bastards if you were fine. _Dark snapped.

I sighed. I didn't feel like dealing with her right now. I focused on Algebra, eventually boring her so that she receded to the back of my head.

The rest of the day was like any normal school day I had ever had before, besides the new voice in my head who was constantly complaining about how incredibly pointless school was and how completely worthless all the creatures around us were compared to her. Finally, the bell rang, announcing the end of the school today.

_FINALLY! GOD! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO F'IN LONG???!!!!_

I winced from her shouts and made my way to my locker.

_I mean, GEEZ! Let's get OUT of this hell hole!_

She continued like this for a little while, just rambling on and on. I was finally beginning to get used to it when Knuckles started walking towards me. I gazed at him. He was wearing a black polo with khaki shorts and aviator sunglasses.

_Wow._ Dark and I thought at the same time.

He smiled when he got over to me. He pulled off his sunglasses and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, saying "Hey, I, uh, wanted to apologize 'bout this morning. Guess I got a little carried away. I do that a lot." He looked up at me, smiling crookedly again.

My heart beat a billion times faster, much to my annoyance. What was it about him that was just so darn cute?!

I swung my back pack over my shoulder. "It's fine, really."

Knuckles' cell phone began vibrating and he put it up to his ear. "Yeah?"

Buzzing from the other end. "Ok, be right there." He hung up.

"Great." He said sarcastically.

"What?" I asked.

"Eggman's at the street corner, apparently with some new creation. Better get down there." Knuckles started to turn around.

I grabbed his shoulder, then instantly dropped my hand, blushing. "Sorry, but what am I supposed to do? I mean, I can help."

He turned back around. "Uh, well you'd have to ask Sonic." He made a wry face. "Despite my protesting, he's still considered our 'leader'."

I grinned. "Yeah, he's always been like that. Let's go."

We ran down to the street corner, well I jogged, and met Sonic and the others there. "Hey, sis!" Sonic greeted me. "Hey, Knux," he added teasingly. Knuckles rolled his eyes.

"Eggman's supposed to be here in…well that was fast." Sonic said, surprised.

A giant robot was standing right in front of us. Everyone instantly readied themselves, some smiling, excited. I didn't move a muscle. I…how do I put it? I was terrified out of my wits? Sort of. But it wasn't because I thought it was gonna destroy me or anything.

No. It was because it looked far too much like a Metarex.

Far too much like the creature that had kidnapped my brother and killed my parents.

Far too much like the creature that had ruined my life.

**Oo another cliffhanger! I'm getting good at this! XD Please read and review!**


	7. Confused

**I think I'm gonna start kicking in the romance here in the next chapter or so. Be prepared! XD**

To say I freaked out would be a huge- I mean HUGE-understatement.

I really don't know what happened to me. I just couldn't stand it.

I zoomed away, just running, running, running. I had no idea where I was going, not that I cared in the least. Running was the only cure for a broken heart. Problem was, it only lasted so long. I pushed myself faster and faster, as if I could outrun my tragic past. But I was so tired of running. I ran away from everything. It was running away that had ruined my life in the first place. I was such a coward.

Dark reclined in the back of my head, simply along for the ride. _Yes, you are._ She agreed, putting her hands behind her head and crossing her legs.

I ignored her, flying, flying, soaring…I skidded to a halt. I was on Angel Island. Why had I come here?

_Isn't it obvious?_ Dark rolled her eyes.

_No, it isn't, thank you very much!_ I snapped at her.

_Fine, fine. Whatever you say, hun._

I crumpled down to the ground, exasperated.

"Starlight?"

I jumped, whirling around.

"Shadow?" I asked, bewildered.

"What's wrong?" He walked up to where I sat.

"It's nothing. I'm fine." I quickly wiped away my tears.

Shadow snorted. "I'm not a dumbass, Starlight. I have eyes."

"Yeah, well, fix them on some other poor, pathetic soul." I turned away.

"Starlight, I'm serious."

I turned back around slowly. His big red eyes were gazing at me, so intense it felt like they could burn right through you. I shivered, but not because I was in any way cold.

"You wouldn't understand." I said, forcing my gaze down to the ground.

He sighed. He sounded sad, really sad. It surprised me. "Trust me, I would." He said, sitting down next to me.

"Uh-huh, what makes you so sure?" I was uncomfortable. He was a bit too close.

"Because I was in love once."

"So…?" I raised an eyebrow.

"She was shot. And I couldn't do anything." He answered, staring straight in front of him.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, it's over now."

We were silent for a while. Finally I hugged my knees and I asked him, "Why are you here?"

He scooted a bit closer to me. "I was worried about you." His eyes locked with mine again. They were beautiful. Kind of like…Knuckles'.

Knuckles.

Suddenly I felt very out of place. I wasn't supposed to be here, with Shadow, sitting like this. This close.

And yet…I wanted to be here. He felt kind and caring and he…understood. Something I didn't think anybody would be capable of. But…I mean…didn't I like?…ugh. This was all so confusing.

"You know, Star, you really are…beautiful. Gorgeous, even. But tears…they don't suit you." He smiled gently, wiping away one of the tears that had fallen down my cheek.

I laughed softly, and gazed out towards the horizon. The sun had begun to set. It cast shades of pink, orange, and blue across the Earth.

I didn't know what to feel. Everything hurt and yet everything felt peaceful and right. Yet, wrong. Well, maybe not wrong but…something was missing. Everything was missing. I shook my head. I couldn't even make sense of myself.

"Ehem."

I gasped and jumped up to my feet, whipping around. Then I relaxed. It was Knuckles. I smiled at him. He didn't smile back.

"Was I interrupting something?" Knuckles looked down at Shadow, who was still sitting, looking up at Knuckles.

"No, no, not at all." Shadow set, standing up. "You see, Star here was sad. She really needed someone. Since no one else volunteered, well, I decided to comfort her."

Knuckles seethed. "Not all of us…are as fast…as you, Shadow." He said between his teeth.

"Yes, but, if you really were worried about her, I'm sure you could have gotten here much faster."

Knuckles looked like he was going to explode.

I didn't know what was going on, but it certainly didn't look good. I slowly said "Guys, guys, really it's ok."

"You stay away from her, Shadow." Knuckles' eyes blazed.

"Am I the one who should stay away? 'Cause it seems I did a pretty good job at calming her down." Shadow replied, taunting Knuckles.

Knuckles raised his fist. "Shadow, I swear, if-!" He broke off as I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok, Knuckles. We were just talking." I told him, looking him directly in the eyes. He lowered his fist and nodded slowly. Then he turned towards Shadow. "Get off my property, Shadow." He ordered.

Shadow smirked. "With pleasure." But then he looked at me and his eyes softened. "You okay? Really?"

It was so easy to believe he cared. I smiled. "I am now. Thanks, Shadow."

"Anytime." His eyes locked with mine for another split second, then he was gone.

I stared after him for a few seconds, then shook my head.

I turned around. Knuckles was gone.

"Knuckles?" I called out.

No answer.

_Dude, he's pissed. _Dark snickered.

_I know…that's what worries me._ I replied, looking around.

I ran towards his house. I saw him storm into the house and slam the door behind him. I followed him.

"Knuckles, what's the matter?" I came into the house, where Knuckles was randomly moving around cleaning up things.

_Guess he takes out his anger by cleaning. _Dark laughed. But it was HER kind of laugh. The kind of laugh that makes you wanna go vomit.

"'What's the matter', ha!" Knuckles muttered.

"Knuckles, what the hell…?"

"God damn it, Starlight!" He stopped moving around and turned to look me right in the eyes. He looked so upset.

"What? What is it?"

"Can't you see? He…Shadow's a user, Starlight! He'll hurt you! I don't want you to get hurt-"

I interrupted him. Now he was pissing me off. "A user?! Look Knuckles, I understand that you're jealous but just because you are doesn't mean you can go around calling people users!"

"Jealous? You think that's all it is?! You think I just want you 'cause you're gorgeous?" He asked, incredulous.

"Now, look here, I-!"

"It's so much f'ing more than that, Star! I just can't figure you out! The first time I saw you… and you looked so sad…and I, I just can't…ugh!" He grabbed me suddenly, holding me close to him, our faces a few inches apart.

"I don't know what it is. You're annoying and depressed and reckless and stupid, but I…I just can't get you out of my head."

I stared into his big ocean eyes. My heart beat, like, faster than me.

And that's fast.

But it still wasn't prepared for what happened next.

"I care about you…more than I ever have for anyone else. I don't understand why, I mean, it's just not like me at all, but…" He stopped, just gazing into my eyes, our breath mingling.

And then his lips touched mine.

I gasped and a shockwave of pleasure flew down my spine. My heart stopped. Just quit. Guess it couldn't take the overwhelming emotion that had now settled in my entire core.

This was about a million times better than breaking the sound barrier. Before now, I hadn't thought there was any better feeling. Damn, had I been wrong.

His lips were gentle at first, chaste, as though still waiting for permission. But as I began to kiss back, his lips became hungrier, pressing harder. And I let him. I bathed in this glorious moment, this ray of sunshine in the darkness that was my life.

My lips slowly parted. His tongue traced across them, ever so gently, so gently, in fact, that I was surprised. I hadn't believed a guy like Knuckles was even capable of such gentleness. My heart swelled. He…he really did care, didn't he?

I breathed in the sweet scent of him. Clean and manly, yet warm and sweet. Yes, this was right. This was where I was supposed to be. I felt like I was soaring, flying. It was just me and Knuckles, forever and ever and…

I stopped.

I didn't deserve this. I didn't deserve this at all.

I broke away, holding my face in my hands. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." I cried.

"What? No, it's fine…Star? What's the matter?" Knuckles started, looking worried now.

"No, no! It's my fault! I killed them, Knuckles! I killed them!"

**I'm really liking where this is going! :D A little Knuxlight and Shadlight for ya there. Hope you like! Tell me what you think I'm doing right and what I should change. Thanks!**


	8. Broken

**Another new chapter of Dark! I decided to do a little switching around with points of view, to add in the personalities of the other characters. Enjoy!**

**POV: Dark**

Great. Now she'd done it.

She was going to tell him. Everything.

There was only one thing I could do. I only had one choice. She would ruin everything I had planned so far if she told him.

And besides, I had wanted to do it ever since I'd first met him.

I took control of Star's body (it was getting far too easy these days), grabbed Knuckles' head, and slammed it against the wall. Hard.

He was out like a light. I snickered.

_Dark?! What the hell?! _Starlight screamed.

Ugh. She was getting terribly annoying.

I needed to think for a bit, think without her knowing. I needed her head-my head- for myself. I needed to make a plan, sift through her memories, find some way…

Suddenly, I knew what to do.

What I was about to do was going to hurt. A lot. I knew that. But it would be worth it in the long run. Finally, I would have everything I needed.

I slowly receded to the corner of her brain as she continued screaming at me, her anger boiling. She was quite entertaining when she was angry.

I searched quickly and carefully. Found it. I took a deep, deep breath, squeezed my eyes tight, summed up my power, and…

I snapped our body like a twig.

Starlight screamed, then choked as she coughed up blood. Within seconds, she was gone.

I winced. The pain was staggering. But I would get used to it soon enough. I had endured much worse. She was unconscious and finally I could think without her always there, always watching, always listening.

It was time for the next move.

**POV: Sonic**

I would recognize that blood-curdling scream from anywhere.

Starlight.

Amy and Blaze exchanged frantic glances, then Amy turned to me, looking worried. I nodded to her. I would be right back.

I was gone in an instant. I charged up to Angel Island and swung open the door to Knuckles' house.

I gasped, horrified, trying to keep myself from vomiting into the bushes. Starlight's body was lying broken and bleeding in the middle of the floor. Her back was twisted way too far and in an odd angle. Knuckles was lying close beside her, his eyes closed, but still breathing. Starlight was not.

"Tails!" I managed to call out, before falling to my knees and trying to pick up Starlight's broken body.

Shadow was suddenly beside me, with Tails.

"Holy shit." Shadow breathed.

"Yeah, I know. Tails, can you help her?!" I turned to him, looking him in the eyes desperately.

"I…I don't know…but I'll try!" He answered, worried but determined.

Blaze and Amy were about to enter the house now. I rushed over to Amy, hiding her from the scene inside. "Trust me…you don't want to see." I said gently to her.

She looked up at me, tears forming in her moss green eyes. "Is she…?" She asked, her voice cracking.

I interrupted her, putting a finger to her lips. "She's gonna be okay, Ames."

Amy nodded, not entirely reassured, but I knew she trusted me. I turned to Blaze. "Can you help Silver with Knuckles?" I asked.

She nodded and ran over to where Silver was dragging Knuckles out of the house. Normally, I would of found this hilarious. But now…well, I was worried. I wasn't a worrisome kind of guy.

Tails was getting the Tornado ready to transport everyone back to his lab. _Please,_ I prayed. _Please, let them be okay. Please. I don't want to live without my sister again._

**POV: Tails**

This was bad. This was really bad.

I didn't know how in the world it had happened. People's spines just don't snap in two. The only one here strong enough to snap a spine with his bare hands would be Knuckles and, well, I had seen the way he looked at Star.

It just didn't make sense. I mean, who would want to hurt Star? Even Eggman wasn't THAT bad.

I didn't know Starlight that well. In fact, I had only talked to her a few times at school. She was kinda hard to talk to, ya know? She was pretty quiet. But…I had seen signs of what seemed more like a sister of Sonic. When she laughed. In P.E. She would get this funny determined look on her face that was so much like Sonic, I swear, if they weren't different colors, you wouldn't be able to tell the two apart.

But now…it was all me. I was the only one here who knew any kind of medical procedures and everyone was counting on me. Especially Sonic. And I couldn't let Sonic down. He was like my brother.

Silver and Blaze loaded Knuckles into the Tornado, then Starlight. Everyone then climbed in and we took off to my lab.

When we got there I quickly took Starlight back to the operating room. Knuckles would come to in a bit, so I just left him in the waiting room with the others. Sonic wanted to help me in the operating room but I told him 'trust me. No, you don't.'

I ran back into the operating room and began to set up all my equipment. We had given her oxygen on the Tornado, but it wasn't like that was going to save her life now. She was losing a lot of blood. Too much blood. Her entire body was twisted at a terrible angle.

I worked quickly, trying to ignore how grotesque it was. I had the right equipment to do the job but…did I have the right skill? I was no doctor. And that made me nervous.

I injected some morphine into her system, hoping that would help with the pain she would have to endure. I took several x-rays, finding where exactly her spine was broken. I sighed, shaking my head. If I didn't do this right she would be paralyzed for the rest of her life. That would kill her. She loved to run, just as much as Sonic.

I kept working, determined. I reset the bone carefully, then used a few of my new inventions to right it. I drilled through one part of the bone, trying to reset the spinal cord, which I knew I could do if this machine worked properly, and if I could reset the spinal cord she wouldn't be paralyzed so-

I stopped my thinking process.

The monitor showing her heart beat was freaking out.

Oh no. What had I done?

Sonic was instantly in the room, followed by Shadow.

"What happened?!" They exclaimed together.

"I…I don't know…I tried to reset the…" I trailed off, putting my face in my hands. I couldn't do this. There was no way I could do this.

The door of the operating room swung open again. I looked up. Knuckles stood there, breathing heavily, his eyes blazing. He put his hands on my shoulders and said "You can do this, Tails. I know you can. You have to do this." His tone then became something along the lines of desperation, which was crazy, because Knuckles was not in the least the desperate type. "Please."

I sighed sadly. "I'll try, Knuckles. I promise I'll try. But I won't lie to you…I don't think she will live through the night."

**POV: Dark**

I looked up suddenly.

Did Tails really say he thought Star was going to die??

What kind of IDIOT did he think I was?!!

Of COURSE, I wasn't about to let her die!

Not yet, anyways. I couldn't survive without her yet.

And of COURSE I wasn't about to let her become paralyzed! That would just make my life a heck of a lot more boring than it already was!

I sighed, rolling my eyes. Mortals. So stupid sometimes.

**POV: Blaze**

I looked up from the magazine I was pretending to read when I heard Knuckles shout "Don't you dare say that!"

I cringed as I heard something hit the wall.

I sighed. Of course. I was going to have to be the voice of reason.

"Be right back." I whispered to Amy, Rogue, and Silver. They nodded as I got up and walked to the operating room. I opened the door.

"What in GOD's name are you boys DOING?!" I exclaimed.

Everyone instantly stiffened.

"Knuckles, put Tails down!" I barked at him.

He did. "Sorry." He mumbled, looking away.

Geez…it was like training a bunch of newborn puppies, only worse. 'Cause they were all teenagers.

"Look, guys, I realize you're all worried, but let's focus on the task at hand! What do we need to do, Tails?" I asked the poor fox, who was slightly shaken by Knuckles' outburst.

"Her heart beat…it's-" Tails stopped.

The monitor had stopped beeping all together. It was just one, long, steady beat now.

"Oh no you don't!" Sonic rushed over to Star, practically yelling at her unconscious body. "Don't you dare give up, Star, you hear me?!"

I sighed.

Crap.

**POV: Dark**

I snickered.

This was classic. Just classic.

**POV: Shadow**

It was hard to believe it. One second, I'd been there, my arm around her, and the next…she's gone.

I watched as Sonic, Tails, and Blaze did everything in their power to help her. Nothing happened though. The monitor just continued its long beeeeeeep.

Knuckles was completely silent but it wasn't like he had to say anything. His eyes said it all. Pain, sadness, emptiness, regret,…guilt. He blamed himself, you could tell that easily.

I just stood there, feeling…lost. Which was not in the least unusual. But it was unusual that I cared. I didn't love her, no, I knew that. But…she was so beautiful and different and…I closed my eyes and shook my head. If I got attached it would be Maria all over again.

Besides, I had been dating Rouge for a while now. She was who I was supposed to be with.

Right?

I hated asking questions I didn't already know the answers too. It was a sign of weakness. And I was not weak.

…Right?

**POV: Starlight**

Where was I? All I could see was black. All I could hear, feel, taste, and smell was black. Everything was numb.

I couldn't remember anything. I reached out for anything I could recognize, but I feared I had given up far too long ago.

I was longing for something…but I didn't know what. Something warm and sweet. I had felt it only once before. What was it…?

I smiled. Oh, yes.

Lips. Lips on mine. They had made me feel like me again.

Whose lips though?

Blurred pictures raced through my mind, but I couldn't focus. I didn't like this. I didn't like this at all.

I became agitated. Who? Whose lips? I demanded the answer.

I finally focused.

Knuckles! Oh, yes!

_Please, please._ I thought. _I want to feel his lips again._

I searched for my heart. It was somewhere…it was hidden…difficult to find. Everything was so confusing, wherever I was.

I finally found it. But…something was wrong. It was supposed to be moving, beating right? Well, it wasn't. That was bad, wasn't it?

But it felt so nice. Much better than when it was beating. When I was beating it was painful-very painful. In this dark there was no pain, no struggle, just floating in an endless expanse of time. No worry. Just quiet.

Dark. That reminded me. Where was she? Not that I cared. It was nice not having her here.

Suddenly I heard voices. Lots of voices. Or maybe just one, very loud voice. I cringed. I didn't like how loud it was. But it was familiar, somehow.

Then there was another. It was deep and gravelly and…I stopped. I knew that voice!

I reached out again, springing forward, searching desperately, clinging on to whatever I could find, trying to get closer to that voice…

Something brushed my hand.

My senses exploded. My heart was suddenly beating again. It was loud, very loud. All of the sudden I was rushed back into light and with that light, pain.

I moaned but my eye-lids flew open. "Knuckles!" I croaked, gasping.

His eyes widened and mine slowly rolled back, closing again. But not because I was unconscious. Just tired. So tired.

Knuckles was holding my hand now, stroking it. He spoke again, although not to me. I wasn't really listening to what he was saying, more the gorgeous way the words rolled off his tongue.

Another voice-higher, but still masculine. I smiled. Sonic.

"Sis!" Sonic whispered happily, yet very, very gently.

"H…hi." I rasped.

"Shhh." Knuckles shushed me, but I could hear his crooked smile in his voice.

My crooked smile.

Yet another voice-much higher. Tails.

Another-feminine, proud, and dignified. I almost laughed. Blaze, of course.

And lastly a voice that was so low it was difficult to hear. But I loved that voice. Shadow.

I sighed, forgetting the pain, as I listened to the voices of the ones I…I loved. The ones I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

Oh, yes.

My whole life.

No way was I giving up now.

'Cause, I, Starlight Jane Hedgehog, had something worth fighting for.

I had something I never thought I would have again.

I had a family.

**What do you think? I'm pretty pleased with it, though I'm sure I could add some more. Tell me what you think! Thanks!**


	9. Never Free

**I just watched the Season Finale of Lost and all I can say is…wow. That was some awesome stuff right there. Anyways, enjoy chapter 9!**

Three months later…

**POV: Knuckles**

I just didn't get it.

How did I end up with her? What did I see in her? Heck, she wasn't even an echidna!

But…somehow, we were both here. Right now.

And as I held her to my chest as the thunder crashed outside, everything felt just right. I wasn't lonely anymore. There was something to live for, beyond just guarding a big, shiny rock all day. There was…love.

I shook my head, smiling. Love. It had never occurred to me before I had met Starlight. That I didn't love anyone, I mean. My parents were both dead. I had no relations. Sure, Sonic and the others I cared about, but loved? No. The word love hadn't really meant much to me back then. The closest I had ever come to loving anyone was with Shade, but even that was more of a sisterly sort of love.

I looked down at Star's smiling face.

But Starlight? Yeah. Yeah, you could definitely say I loved her.

**POV: Starlight**

Sonic was pacing back and forth angrily, while the rest of us sat down in arm chairs or on the floor. I…well, I sat in Knuckles' lap. It was far more comfortable. Blaze and Silver sat in an armchair together-did I mention they're dating?- and Shadow and Rouge sat together on the couch. Shadow looked strange, though. He looked comfortable, but… I had caught him shooting glances at me several times. I didn't understand why. Had I done something?

Knuckles caught my brow furrowing, in thought. He was getting good at that. He leaned his head down and whispered in my ear, "You okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I just…well, Shadow hasn't looked like himself lately, has he?" I replied, gazing up at him.

"Shadow?" Knuckles snorted. "He's just jealous that I got the girl." He smiled at me triumphantly.

I elbowed him, rolling my eyes. "I'm really not that amazing, remember? What was it again? Oh yeah, apparently I'm stupid, annoying, depressed, reckless…" I listed off the names he had called me that one night with my fingers.

"All right, all right! Enough!" Knuckles laughed.

"UGH!"

We were both startled by Sonic's sudden outburst.

"What is it, Soni?" Knuckles teased him. I elbowed him again, only harder. He winced, then chuckled.

Sonic grumbled to himself. "It's Amy's birthday and it just has to be raining! Of all the freaking days it could rain! Ugh!"

"Oh Sonic, come on, get over it." Blaze said.

Sonic wheeled on her. "Get over it? I had it perfectly planned out! Finally, I'd take her out on a date so that maybe, just maybe, she'll leave me alone!" He exclaimed.

"Is that really why you wanna ask her on a date, hun? 'Cause I have a feeling you like her more than you let on." Rouge smiled.

We all laughed as Sonic's cheeks grew red. "Are you kidding me? She's the most annoying, irritating, aggravating, little-" Sonic stopped as Amy walked through the door.

"Did I miss something?" She asked innocently.

Sonic was next to her in a second, trying to cover it up. He made a big fake smile and said "Aha, yeah, er, no we were just talking about…um…" Sonic glanced over at me, looking for support.

"We were talking about where Sonic wanted to take you out for dinner tonight." I stated.

"Yeah, that's it!" Sonic exclaimed. "Wait…what?" He looked back over at me, panicked.

I winked at him.

"Oh, SONIKUU!!!!"

Sonic was suddenly being squeezed to death by Amy. "Amy, can't breathe…can't breathe!" He gasped.

"That's so nice of you!!!!!" Amy swung him back and forth like a giant teddy bear. You could tell everyone in the room was suppressing the urge to start cracking up.

"Yeah…" Sonic said sheepishly, then shot a thanks-sooo-much look at me.

I just couldn't resist. Making Sonic miserable was just something I had to do. I was his sister, after all. I stood up. "In fact, why don't we all go out for dinner?! And then we can go to a movie!" I exclaimed.

"What?! No, no, I think we all should-" Sonic started.

"That's a great idea! Aw, Sonikuu, where should we go? How about Jet's restaurant?" Amy gazed up into Sonic's eyes, smiling like it was the best day of her life.

Sonic looked down at her uneasily, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah…um…"

"Aw, come on Sonikuu, it's a greeeat idea." Silver teased, laughing.

"As if you guys were the best to go to for ideas!" Sonic snapped at Knuckles and Silver, who were doubled over with laughter. "What was it, Knuckles? 'Go splash a little water on him!' And Silver, apparently you're the most naïve of all of us!"

Silver and Knuckles stopped laughing and looked across the room at one another. Then they snorted, laughing again. "What are you talking about, man?" Knuckles asked.

Sonic looked furious. "You…you don't remember? How can you not remember? 'I am Sinbad of the Seven Seas, adventurer of adventurers!' 'Oh Silver, you're so naïve…but, I've always liked that about you.' You really don't remember?" Sonic imitated what seemed like the voices of Knuckles and Blaze but no one seemed to have any idea what he was talking about.

Knuckles whispered over to Silver. "Man, I think he's cracking! All that hero crap must be getting to his head!" Everyone was laughing now.

"That's it!" Sonic threw himself at Knuckles. The two were soon in a full-fledged wrestling match. Sonic was too quick for Knuckles to pin him down, but Knuckles was too strong for Sonic to pin him down. It was a mess.

It was funny, at first. Then I realized Sonic was bleeding.

Call me an over-protective sister, but you've got to understand, right? The sight of blood…it only brings back memories. Memories I'd rather not have.

"Enough!" I tried to separate the two. I couldn't. They just laughed and kept on swinging.

"Enough!" I cried. They ignored me.

"ENOUGH!" I threw myself between the two, my eyes flashing fiercely and a snarl ripping out of my throat.

Knuckles and Sonic immediately stopped, stunned.

"Knuckles, sit down." I snapped. He looked at me worriedly.

"SIT DOWN!" I screamed. He immediately sat.

_Dark? Why…why am I so angry?_ I asked. This wasn't me. She was doing something. I knew it.

_I told you. You and I are not as different as you think._ She responded.

I snarled at her. _I will __never__ be like you!_

_And yet, you already are. I'm a part of you, Star. Best get used to it._

I shook with anger. Knuckles lifted his hand, trying to take mine. I grabbed him by the shirt collar and slammed him against the wall. "DON"T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!" I screamed into his face. He didn't flinch once. He just looked me in the eyes sadly, the sapphires around his pupils breaking my heart. I fell to my knees, sobbing.

_Why?! _I cried.

_Because anger is a part of you. Revenge is a part of you. There is no escape, Starlight. The pain will never end. _Dark said.

_You will never be free. Just thought I would remind you of that._

*************************************************************************

I gasped and flew upright. The world spun around me. Sweat drenched my clothes and the sheets around me. Thunder boomed and the sky flashed.

_It was a dream_. I thought, panting heavily. _Oh, thank God, it was just a dream. I'm me. I'm not Dark. Never will I be Dark. I won't let her…I…_

Knuckles stirred beside me. His eyelids slowly fluttered open. He sat up, slowly, blinking at me. Then he smiled.

His ocean eyes reminded me of the dream. My stomach rolled.

"Ugh…" I moaned, swaying.

"Woah there." Knuckles caught me. "You okay?" He asked, sounding worried.

"Fine." I gulped. "Just…had a bad dream."

"You scared of thunder?"

"Huh? Oh, no, I'm not…it was nothing." I replied, looking away.

"Really? 'Cause it doesn't look like it was nothing." He cupped my chin in the palm of his hand and raised my face so that I was looking at him. "Star…you know you can tell me anything. Anything at all."

I sighed, leaning into his chest, and closing my eyes. "Just don't leave." I told him. "Promise me you won't ever leave."

He took my hand. "I promise."

"Thank you."

He laid back and we slowly fell asleep, my head resting on his chest. But Dark's words never once stopped replaying in the back of my mind.

_The pain will never end. You will never be free._

**Well…if that wasn't dramatic I don't know ****what**** is lol. Oh, if you were wondering what in the world I was talking about with the whole 'Sinbad' and the 'Silver, you're so naïve' thing, those were both references to Sonic and the Secret Rings and Sonic the Hedgehog 2006. Anyways, tell me what you think! I promise I'll try to make the next few chapters a bit happier! XD**


	10. Goodbye

I focused. Let the adrenaline fill my system. Let myself become who I once was. Speed. Only speed.

I aimed a kick at the Gizoid's head. It ducked just in time and sprang back at me with a punch. I dove out of the way and landed on my hands, doing a back flip, and kicking my legs at the Gizoid. It copied my maneuver and hit my face.

Blood trickled down my cheek. The Gizoid had copied Knuckles' strength. I spat blood out of my mouth and focused again. The Gizoid pulled a long, slender stick out from some compartment of his mechanical body. He moved the stick around like a baton, only much faster, deflecting each kick I thrust at him. I hissed in aggravation. Well, I didn't. But Dark did. Despite how crazy it sounds, I was letting part of her battle along with me. I didn't like letting her have even the slightest bit of control over my body, but I knew I couldn't win this battle alone. Knuckles had been thrown against a rock, knocking him unconscious, and the others were still trying to locate us in these caves.

I cast a worried look over at Knux.

_Pay attention!_ Dark screeched.

The Gizoid hit my leg with the stick, causing me to yelp in pain and fall to the floor. He snapped the stick against my back again and again, until I whirled around and grabbed the stick with my hand.

Bad decision.

He lifted the stick, and me, up off the ground and threw it across the room and into the cave wall. I groaned in pain as I smacked against the wall. The Gizoid simply pulled out another stick.

I bit my lip. This guy wasn't giving up easy. I was going to have to use an old trick of Sonic's.

_Oh, great. Well, now we're doomed._ Dark sighed.

I jumped to my feet.

Speed. Speed. Only speed.

I took off, running around and around and around the Gizoid, creating a whirlwind of dust around him. There was no way he could find me now.

Suddenly a hand shot out and grabbed me, pulling me down to the ground.

I coughed out sand and looked up, startled. How could the Gizoid…?

_He copies powers, you dumbass. Even yours. He's just as fast as you now._ Dark rolled her eyes.

_And…he has Knuckles' strength._ I realized.

Dark's eyes widened. _Shit._ She grumbled.

I had to agree with her.

The Gizoid flew at me, his speed equal to mine now. I dodged the stick just in time and punched him in the side. He whacked me in the face, sending me flying across the cave room. Blood was dripping like sweat from my face.

_Let me take over._ Dark said.

_In your dreams._ I snarled, wiping away the blood that had run down into my eyes.

Dark smirked. _You sound more like me every day._

I sighed. Much as I hated to admit it…she was right.

_I'm still not letting you take over._ I told her.

_Well, then at least get the damn Chaos Emerald._ She scoffed.

_I'm working on it._ I watched the Gizoid closely as he whirled his stick around again and looked into my eyes. It was no use, though. He was next to me in an instant, and even my reflexes were no match for his strength. My head cracked against a rock and my eyesight blurred.

"Ughh…" I moaned.

_Focus!_ Dark tensed.

_What do you think I'm trying to do?!_

_Star, let me take over._

_No._

_I'm not kidding, he's gonna kill you._

_I've figured that out, thank you very much! _I panted.

The Gizoid was walking closer and closer, and despite the fact that he had no real eyes, I swore I saw bloodlust in them.

_Starlight, let me take over! _Dark, for once, was serious.

_No! You won't let me regain control!_

_You wanna live, don't you?!_

_Maybe I don't deserve to live!_

_Yeah, but who gives a damn? __I__ want to live! _Dark exclaimed.

Suddenly, she spotted the Chaos Emerald in the hand of the Gizoid. She was suddenly thinking furiously.

_What are you-?_ I tried to see what she was doing.

She slammed down a wall.

I was on my own.

The Gizoid was suddenly upon me. I dodged the first two punches, but I could hardly see a thing. He hit me again and again. I was losing consciousness, I knew it.

Dark suddenly reappeared. _Grab the Chaos Emerald! _She shouted.

_Wha…? _I slurred, everything out of proportion, pain shooting through my head.

_For God's sake! _Dark leapt through the barrier of my control and I was thrown to the back of my own mind. She was in control now.

She aimed a ruthless kick at the Gizoid, sending him sprawling backward. She took the split second chance and grabbed the Chaos Emerald.

As soon as her-our- fingers touched the emerald a very odd sensation flew through us. Like air being sucked into your lungs, only it filled the whole body. And it felt terrible. Sick.

"ARGHHHH!" Dark cried and darkness flew through the room, blowing out the light from the torches on the walls. It was cold. So cold. I couldn't see a single thing.

_Dark! What are you doing?_ I cried out, struggling to take over again. But I was so weak.

But…Dark was weakening too. Which was strange. I had never felt her weak before. I felt her trying desperately to hold on to whatever kind of power she had just summoned, but I could feel it fading.

I summoned up the little strength I had left. I kept only one thing in my mind. Knuckles. I had to get back to him. That was all that mattered.

I shattered the barrier of control again, and sent Dark sprawling back. She was unconscious, meaning my head was silent, other than my own thoughts. Which was amazing.

I felt a tiny bit of the Chaos energy still circulating through my veins. I furrowed my brow in thought.

Suddenly, the fire from the torches flared up again. I blinked from the sudden light and gazed around the room. The Giozoid was in pieces, in a heap on the floor. I scrunched my eyebrows, my eyesight still blurred. There was something shiny. Yes, definitely metal. I slowly followed the slender arch of the object. It became bigger and longer. I blinked again, straining to see. It looked like a claw.

Wait…a claw?

I looked up, to see a blurred Knuckles standing there, his shovel claw piercing straight through the Gizoid's chest.

Then his eyes turned towards me.

He was over to me in an instant.

"Star, Star, you okay?" He nudged me gently, putting his arms around me.

I blinked again. Yep, I was definitely losing consciousness.

I sighed and turned to Knuckles. "I'm fine. Just don't tell Sonic I lost to a single Gizoid. Tell him it was an army of them."

Knuckles chuckled, and hoisted me onto his back gently, carrying me out of the cave, just as I sank into a deep sleep.

***********

My eyelids fluttered open.

_Morning, dumbass._

_Ugh…_ She was back.

"Morning, Star." A deep, gravelly voice.

Much better.

I slowly rose to my knees. "Morning, Knuckles." I smiled.

"Sure you're all right? You had quite a battle there. You look awful." He smiled back at me, sympathetically, wiping away a bead of sweat on my brow.

I nodded, looking around. "How long have I been out? And, where are we?"

"You were out for about an hour. We're in another cave room, though I don't think this one belongs to the Gizoids. The others are still trying to find us. The Chaos transmission from the cave system is apparently throwing off Tails' tracker. Or at least, that's what he told me when I managed to get contact with him about thirty minutes ago." Knuckles replied, rummaging through a satchel.

I nodded again, sighing. I was still tired.

"Want something to eat?" He asked me.

My ears perked up and my stomach rumbled, as if in response.

Knuckles grinned his crooked smile, causing my heart to jump all over the place again. "I guess that's a yes, then." He said.

"Mmm-hmm." I mumbled, already biting into the sandwich he had passed me.

He started fooling with the transmitter again, so I took the chance to speak to Dark.

_Don't think I've forgotten what happened earlier._ I told her.

_Look, __I __don't even half way know what happened._ She replied.

_Sure, whatever. _I rolled my eyes.

_But you weren't named Starlight for nothing. _Dark snickered.

_Why does it always have to be riddles with you? _I asked her, aggravated.

'_Cause it's fun knowing that I know something you don't and that you aren't strong enough to look through my thoughts and find out._ Dark smiled smugly.

_You just wait. _I told her.

_Uh, I've been waiting for quite a while now, Star._

_Shut up._

I turned back to Knuckles. "When do you think the others will get here?" I asked.

"Probably another thirty minutes. Sorry, but I don't know how to make this thing work any better." He pointed at the transmitter.

"It's fine. But…it's kinda cold in here."

Dark rolled her eyes. She knew what I was up too.

So did Knuckles. He chuckled and took me into his arms. I cuddled against his chest. This was the only escape I ever had. I always enjoyed it as much as I could.

But, of course, it only lasted so long.

**********

I jumped when I felt a humongous crash from behind us. We whirled around.

Shadow stood there, the cave wall blown to bits. "Sorry." He muttered, no expression on his face, but I knew there was jealousy in his eyes. I saw him looking at Knuckles and I.

"About time." Knuckles jumped to his feet, slapping a high five with Tails, who had walked in.

"Yeah…" Tails laughed sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Hey, sis, I- woah. What the hell happened to you?" Sonic looked at me with wide eyes.

"I was attacked by Gizoids. Er, an army of them." I told him.

Sonic raised an eyebrow but shrugged. "Well, we set up a camp outside. We're gonna be staying here for the night 'cause Tails still needs to sort out some things."

"We're going to be missing another day of school? Crap, Ms. Worthington's gonna kill me." Blaze sighed.

"Who cares? It's school!" Sonic told her.

"Well, unlike some people, I actually wanna graduate!" Blaze shot back at him.

"Whatever." Sonic rolled his eyes and turned back to me, grinning. "So, you can take one of the tents. I gotta go help Tails. 'Catch ya kids later!" He called and zipped away.

I walked over to the camp, exhausted, my feet dragging beneath me. I fell into one of the tents and was asleep within seconds.

************

But, of course, not for long.

I woke up around midnight, having had another too vivid dream. I sighed, crawling out of my sleeping bag and silently unzipping the tent. I had nothing better to do than go explore. There was no chance of me falling back asleep without Knux, who still hadn't come back from the little excursion with Tails and Sonic.

I walked out into the darkness, my quills becoming bathed in the moonlight that filtered down through the trees, hitting my emerald eyes so that they shone like crystals. I wrapped a blanket tight around my shoulders. It was getting colder, closer to winter. I had never liked winter that much.

Dark was dosing, though she never fully fell asleep. She was always half-way conscious, an ear perked up, listening to my every thought, my every move.

_There is no escape._

There wasn't. And, let's face it, it sucked. Big time.

I kept walking, slowly, too tired to run, but too awake to go back to the tent. I kept my eyes on my feet, taking one step in front of the other. I counted my steps. One, two, three, four…

I must have walked like that for miles, losing complete track of time, location, everything. I felt empty, yet so whole, that everything ached, both literally and figuratively. I wanted to go home. My real home.

But, home was different now. Home was with Knuckles and the others. And though I loved it there, and I loved them, there was still a big missing piece. Sometimes I wasn't even sure if it was my parents. Just something was wrong. With me. With my past. With my present. And, if I didn't change, my future.

I stopped when I made my way to a lake. The water rippled with the late evening breeze, shining like a million tiny diamonds, as the moonlight stroked the surface. As I gazed at my reflection, I found, there were only parts I recognized. My quills and fur. Same color, just a bit dirty. My clothes. The same thing I had always worn. But, my eyes…they didn't sparkle. Not the way they used to. When I thought of Knuckles, they brightened considerably more, but there was still a big, gaping hole in them. Guilt, regret, anger, all holding a grudge against myself.

I crumpled down to my knees, lying down beside the lake bed, the water washing up and caressing my toes. I didn't start crying, I just lay there, just searching desperately. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I move on? That's what people did. They were sad for a while, then they forgot, learned to forgive themselves, moved on. But I wasn't like that. And I didn't understand.

"Star?" A deep voice, but my heart sank when I realized it wasn't Knuckles.

"Hi, Shadow." I whispered, my voice nearly dying away with the wind.

He walked slowly over to me. "What are you doing?" He was quiet as well, his fiery eyes gazing over the lake.

I didn't look up at him, but answered him. "I'm thinking."

"What about?" I felt Shadow's eyes turn to me, but I let mine linger on the filmy surface of the lake.

"Me. Why I'm here. Why I…It doesn't matter." I turned away, laying my head down on the bank, and closing my eyes.

Shadow was quiet for a minute, then said "Why are you with him? Knuckles, I mean."

"Why do you care so much?" I sighed.

"Because, obviously, it doesn't make you happy. I'm not jealous, I just don't understand." He replied.

"Of course you don't understand. And of course, you're jealous because if you weren't you would see that I love Knuckles more than I've ever loved anyone else." I snapped at him, though I kept my eyes closed.

Shadow sighed. "Starlight," he said gently. "He can't heal you."

Somehow, his words didn't surprise me at all. This was Shadow, after all. "I know that." I answered.

"Then why do you think he can?"

Finally, I turned to look up at him. "Because I don't have any other choice, Shadow. I can't heal myself, I can't fix myself, I can't forgive myself. But Knuckles at least makes the pain numb for a while."

"You can't live your life numb, Star."

"Once again, what other choice do I have?"

I turned away again.

"At least come back to camp. It's cold out here. And…Knuckles will be back soon." Shadow told me.

"I'll catch up."

Shadow didn't move a muscle.

"You're not going to leave, are you?" I asked him.

"No."

No. Of course not.

I rose to my feet. "Fine. I'll come back."

I walked over to him, looking at him straight in the eyes. I stood tall, covering my weakness.

I gazed at him for a bit longer, then turned away, and began walking.

His arm shot out, grabbing mine. "Starlight." Was all he said.

I looked back at him, not saying a word.

He was a silhouette, as the moonlight hit his back. He really was a shadow now.

He pressed his lips hard against mine. Funny as it seemed, I, again, wasn't surprised.

But it wasn't right. I let him kiss me for a minute, then pulled away.

"Don't make me do this, Shadow. Don't do this to yourself. You know it isn't right. I belong with Knuckles and you, well, you belong with who you belong with. But not me."

I walked up the hill, then turned back for one last look.

"Goodbye, Shadow." I said.

**Dang, that was a long chapter! Anyways, sorry about the slow update, this week was soooo busy! Hope you enjoyed!**


	11. Secret

**Here you are! Sorry this took a while, I've just been having some writer's block lately. But, as it is now summer for me, I should be updating more often. By the way, I decided to change Star's appearance a bit, as I found her original appearance a bit boring and too much like Sonic. She now wears her quills straightened (kind of like an echidna's, only not curved around the face) and wears a purple off the shoulder shirt and denim jeans.**

**POV: Dark**

The next morning, Shadow was gone.

Perfect.

Starlight, to my own surprise, didn't seem surprised. But then again, this was Shadow we were talking about.

No one else seemed particularly bothered, either. But I was ecstatic.

Everything was going perfectly. With Shadow out of the way, my plan was certain to work. And considering how incredibly pathetically dramatic Starlight had been lately, I was beginning to think it was going to be a piece of cake.

Now I simply needed power.

**POV: Starlight**

Shadow was gone.

I wasn't necessarily surprised, but I was sad. I didn't know why, though… I mean, I had settled it for myself. Me and him. We were over, we didn't belong together. It was said. Done. And yet, I missed him.

I sighed. Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails still hadn't returned yet. I was beginning to get a bit worried.

Okay, not a bit.

I was out of my wits in worry. Had something happened to them? Was it somehow my fault? Surely it was. Everything was my fault these days.

I paced back and forth in the tent. I hadn't slept all night, and I was sure I looked a wreck.

Suddenly, I heard some commotion from outside the tent. I unzipped it quickly and stepped out to find that Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles had returned.

I just couldn't help myself.

I zipped to Knuckles at lightning speed and threw myself into his arms. He caught me, but, however, fell over in the process, chuckling. I placed a big fat kiss on his cheek and he blushed slightly. Then he held me back and took a long look at me. "You didn't sleep at all last night, did you?" He asked.

I shook my head, sheepishly.

"Lord, Star…" Knuckles rolled his eyes.

"I know, I know, it's pathetic, but…" I gave up and just nuzzled myself into his warm chest.

"Ehem." Sonic gave me a look.

I shot a look back at him and stuck out my tongue.

He stuck his out right back at me.

"Okay, okay. Enough, you two." Tails walked in between us. "Anyways, we have stuff to tell you guys." He addressed Blaze, Amy, Rouge, Silver, and I.

"Yeah, why were you gone so long? I missed you." Amy pouted to Sonic.

"Apparently, this place is some kind of Chaos Emerald jackpot." Knuckles explained.

"Precisely," Tails said. "There are at least three more emeralds in this general vicinity."

Dark's ears perked up. This was really beginning to irritate me. I knew she was plotting something, involving the Chaos Emeralds. But…what?

"_Three?_" Blaze asked, incredulous.

"_Three?!_" This reply, of course, came from Rouge.

Knuckles turned to Rouge, narrowing his eyes at her. "Don't get any ideas." He warned.

"Oh, hun, I would never even think of taking those emeralds." Rouge smiled, putting on an innocent tone in her voice.

"Huh. Funny." Knux rolled his eyes.

"Anyways!" Tails exclaimed. "We were able to find the location of one of them. We followed the trail, which led to a waterfall. We think that it's in a cave at the bottom of the pool below the waterfall." (**A/N: Geez…it sounds like Dora. 'Follow the sparkly road, next to the tiny tree, by the big, giant mountain, to get to the princess palace! Now repeat 'map' twenty times louder and louder, even though it will come out whether you say it or not!' XD)**

"Ughhh…" Sonic groaned. "Water."

Amy planted a big kiss on his cheek. "It's ok, Sonikuu. I'll keep you safe."

"Yeah, sure…" Sonic muttered.

"We decided we'd go check it out this afternoon, once everyone's got some sleep." Tails finished.

"Sounds good to me! I'm whipped." Knuckles yawned, then lifted me up, carrying me like a bride towards the tent.

"Ahh! Knuckles, quit!" I squealed. He chuckled, but most certainly did not put me down.

He laid me down, then settled down next to me. "Now, get some sleep." He told me.

"Aww, but you just got here." I pouted, teasing him with a wink.

He seemed slightly surprised by my wink. "You've never winked at me before." He said.

I blushed. "I haven't, have I? Well, I guess it's cause…" I trailed off. Knuckles saw my eyes sadden. He decided to drop it. That was the nice thing about Knux. He wasn't nosy. But, I could tell he was curious.

I felt bad not telling him. It felt like I was lying to him. I didn't deserve him, he didn't know who I was, what I'd done. But, how could I tell him? It would tear us apart.

Knuckles smiled. "I like it when you blush. It's quite cute, actually."

"Oh, well, in that case." I scooped up some of the red dirt from the forest floor and brushed it across my cheeks.

Knuckles laughed. He brushed away the dirt, then said, "Nah, I like your real blush."

I sighed, lying down into my sleeping bag. "Well, that sucks for you, 'cause I don't blush that often." I said.

"That's why I like it so much."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"Really! It is!"

I chuckled, then pulled the sleeping bag over me. Knuckles got into his own bag, then switched off the small battery-charged lamp in the corner of the tent. It didn't change much, though, as it was light outside.

I closed my eyes, and waited. Sleep didn't come. I twisted and turned. Knuckles had already began to snore lightly. _Poor guy._ I thought. _Up all night._

_You __were up all night too. _Dark commented irritably, as my being up caused her to not sleep as well herself.

_Yeah, but I'm used to it. _

_Whatever._

I slowly got out of my sleeping bag, watching Knuckles' falling and rising chest. I gently slipped myself into the sleeping bag with him, careful not to wake him.

I slowly brushed a fingertip along one of his dreadlocks. Oh, if only I could tell him. If only I could tell somebody. I was so alone in this world. And, yet, constantly tormented by the wrong side of myself.

I leaned down and whispered in Knuckles' ear, my voice barely a breath. "I love you. But I can never truly give my whole self to you. I'll always have to hold back. I'll always have to keep this secret. And the worst part about it is…you'll never know." Soft, small, silent tears dripped down onto his cheek. I brushed them off and snuggled myself against his chest.

"You love me," I whispered. "But you don't know me."

(**A/N: Yay! Song lyrics! They're from Let Me Go by 3 Doors Down, if you hadn't figured that out. I think it fits Star pretty well as a theme song. Anyway, on with the story!)**

**********************

**POV: Knuckles**

Mmmm…

My eyes slowly opened.

I was greeted by a giant pair of eye-lids.

"AHHHHHHHH!" I shouted.

"Wha-?! What? What did I miss?" Starlight sprang up out of the sleeping bag.

"Oh…" I sighed, laughing at myself, extremely relieved. "It was you…"

Star gave me a puzzled look. "Who did you think it was?"

"You're wearing blue eye-shadow. Like Rouge. I thought she had…well…ehem." I felt my cheeks turning red and turned away.

"Oh." Starlight giggled. "Are you really that scared of Rouge?"

"YES! Starlight, have you ever seen her? She's got that look on her face like she's gonna rape me any second!" I shook my head violently. Bad images.

Starlight laughed, sitting down beside me.

I then raised an eyebrow at her. "You were sleeping awful close to me last night. Closer than usual."

Her eyes widened and a deep blush flooded her cheeks. I smiled. That was exactly the reaction I had wanted.

_Damn, she's so gorgeous. _I thought to myself, dreamily.

"Is there…um…a problem with me sleeping that close?" She asked me anxiously.

"What? Hell, no! I enjoy it quite…Er, I mean, eheh, um, it's fine." I mentally slapped myself. _Don't go all seductive on her, you idiot!_

She shook her head, smiling at my stuttering. "Well, that's good. 'Cause I rather enjoyed it." She raised her eyebrows up and down at me.

…_Unless she goes all seductive on __you__._

"Oh, I did too. Very much so." I replied.

"Starlight! Knuckles! Stop snogging or whatever you're doing and get your butts out here!" Sonic called to us from outside the tent.

I rolled my eyes but Starlight called right back. "Be right there!"

She really adored that blue fuzzball. Why, I'd never know, but she certainly did.

I threw on a shirt and we walked outside together, where the others were waiting.

"Everyone ready to go?" Tails asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Sonic sighed.

And so we took off.

**A bit shorter of a chapter, but I'll update real soon, I promise! Please review and hope you enjoyed the Knuxlight there. Tell me what you think about the couple and give me a rating, please. Also, check out my poll! :)**


	12. Sacrifice

**POV: Starlight**

It was a long walk to the waterfall, which would explain how long it had taken the guys to get back. It had started raining a few hours ago, and it was beginning to thunder. Our fur was all sticking to our bodies and not one of us looked very happy. In fact, Blaze looked like she was about to start a forest fire. But, she didn't.

I was walking with Knuckles, though both of us were remaining silent. I had to admit, however, that he looked quite funny when he was wet. Little tuffs of fur stuck out on his arms and chest, and his crimson dreadlocks looked like they had been plastered to his face. He gave me a weak smile when he caught me looking at him. I grinned.

"We're here." Sonic said from ahead of us. He was standing at the edge of the forest, looking at something the rest of us couldn't see. I sprinted on up to him, following his gaze…and gasped.

Not only was there a fantastic clearing, where it was no longer raining, but about thirty feet away was the most beautiful waterfall I had seen in my entire life. The water seemed like…like…flowing, moving diamonds almost. The sun was hitting it directly, casting brilliant reflections across its surface. It was falling down off of a steep, green cliff which you could just barely see the top of if you squinted your eyes enough.

At the base of the fall, was a large, serene pool that was completely aqua blue, without a trace of sediment. It was incredible.

Sonic let out a long whistle. "When we came last night, it was dark. You could hardly see it. But, now…" He trailed off.

"It's gorgeous." I finished.

"It sure is." Knuckles and the others had come up behind us.

"So the Chaos Emerald's in there?" Blaze asked, obviously not liking the idea of getting even more wet.

"Yep." Tails walked up, pointing a tracking device at the waterfall. "Well, shall we suit up?" He turned to us.

We already had wetsuits on underneath our clothing, so we set up a small camp and left our clothing there. Then we walked down to the waterfall.

Tails handed out a device to each of us. It was rectangular, with what looked sort-of like a fan attached to the front. "Uh…Tails? What is this?" I asked him.

"It's a…well, I haven't found the right name for it yet, but it allows you to breathe underwater." He answered, beaming.

"Cool." I breathed, looking back down at the device.

Soon, we were all prepared, as every single one of us looked like an idiot, with the tight wetsuits and the rectangular devices in our mouths. We were also wearing sets of goggles, specially made by Tails, with night-vision, heat-vision, all that jazz. It sometimes amazed me what that kid could do.

"Let's go." Tails said, putting the device in his own mouth, then diving into the pool.

I heard Sonic mutter a few obscenities to himself before diving in after Tails.

The others jumped into the pool, causing Knuckles and I to be last.

"Ladies first." Knux winked.

"Yeah, yeah, you're just trying to get out of it." I snickered, winking back. However, I took a deep breath and dove into the water.

It was shockingly cold, and it was hard to see and hear at first, with the waterfall crashing down into the pool. I was surrounded by millions of tiny, seemingly crystalline bubbles, which floated around me, brushing across my fur, then popped up to the surface, and disappeared. Once I got used to the many bubbles, and the roar of the waterfall, and the odd way the device took in water and separated the oxygen molecules from the hydrogen molecules so that I could breathe, I was doing all right. Unlike Sonic, I was quite fond of the water, and had always enjoyed swimming. The only disadvantage was that I was much slower in water. Sure, I could kick myself forward a bit faster than the others, but it wasn't like I could break the sound barrier.

As I swam down deeper, following Rouge, I took a moment to survey my surroundings. We were in a cave-like area, filled with the most beautifully crystal clear water I had ever seen. You could see everything. Just about everywhere you looked there was life. The cave was practically an under-water jungle. Lush sea-dwelling plants were everywhere, and a variety of fish swam in all directions. I gasped as a school of brilliant orange clown fish swam right in front of my eyes, one of their fins tracing across the tip of my nose, tickling it. I let out a short, soft laugh, rather entranced by the beauty of it all.

I heard a little click from a device in my ear, and Amy's voice rang out as clear as if she was right next to me. "The Gizoids certainly chose a prime location." She stated.

"We're almost there." Tails' voice. "The tracker is picking up Chaos Emerald signals from down here."

I could just barely see Tails' signature appendages snake their way through a hole in the wall, where the others were now following him.

We all squeezed through the hole in the wall, until we entered a much larger cavern, where there was a surface. "Up here." Tails turned back to us and pointed to the water's surface.

We kicked ourselves up until our heads broke the surface. I removed my breathing and ear device and took a look around.

The cavern we were in was much darker; in fact, the only light came from an opening up above, out of which yet another waterfall flowed into the cavern.

"That opening." Tails pointed. "That's where at least one of the Chaos Emeralds is. There's another signal coming from below, however."

"We'll split up." Sonic said. "Blaze, Tails, Rouge, and I will head down. Starlight, Knuckles, Amy, and Silver…"

"We'll take the climb." Knuckles finished. Sonic nodded and his group dove back down into the water.

Silver lifted himself into the air, surrounded in his strange light blue glow, and was up at the top of the fall within a second. "Well." He said, peering back over to look down at us. "That was easy."

Amy tapped her foot impatiently. "Ehem."

Silver blinked. "Oh, right." He grinned and lifted his hands. Knuckles, Amy, and I were suddenly surrounded in the glow as well, and were slowly lifted up off the ground and towards the top of the waterfall. Knuckles and Amy looked uncomfortable, not being able to control their own bodies, but me?

I was used to it.

I could feel Dark form a smug smile.

Our feet touched the top of the fall and Silver let go of his hold on us. Tails had given each of us a Chaos Emerald tracker before he and the others had left. Silver pointed it around now. "Well that's just great." He sighed.

"What?" I prompted.

"Tails was certainly right about there being several Chaos Emeralds down here. There's one that way." He pointed to the left. "And one that way." He pointed to the right.

"So, we're going to have to split up even more." Knuckles concluded.

"Yeah." Silver replied. "Well, I guess I'll go with Amy here, that is, if you can bear being with Knuckles, Starlight." He said it to me, but winked at Knuckles, who gave him a playful shove. "Alright, alright." He laughed. "Just contact us if you find anything." Silver said, pointing to the device in his ear.

Knuckles and I nodded and then we went our separate ways.

**POV: Blaze**

"Blaze."

_Grrr…_

"Blaze?"

_Grrrrrrrrr…._

"BLAZE!"

"WHAT?!!!" I whipped around to face him, my hands on fire.

Sonic sighed. "Blaze, just face it. We're lost."

"We. Are. Not. Lost. I know perfectly well where we are." I replied, turning away from him again, seething.

"Uh-huh." Sonic replied, unconvinced. "And where might that be?"

"We're…we're…" I looked at the tracker. "We're right here." I pointed at the little dot that showed where we were standing.

Sonic looked at me bluntly. "Yes, Blaze, I realize that we are where the dot is. But the problem is…neither of us know where that little dot is!"

"Don't you raise your voice at me! I am a queen!" I yelped at him.

"And I am hungry! God, I'd kill for a chili dog right now…" Sonic slumped down onto a rock.

I muttered obscenities to myself as I slumped down on a rock as far from him as I could get. I pulled out the map again. "These caves make no god damn sense…" I mumbled. "If it weren't for you, we'd still be with Tails and Rouge!" I snapped at Sonic, who had his face in his hands.

He looked up, his eyes narrowed. "How is it my fault?"

I did a dramatic imitation of Sonic's voice. "'Oh, we just have to go and check out this cave, Blaze, I'm positive this is where the Chaos Emerald is even though the tracker CLEARLY STATES OTHERWISE!!!' UGH!" I threw down the map and starting pacing back and forth.

Sonic crossed his arms. "Yeah, but then you suggested we try and get back to Tails and now look where we are!" Then he sighed. "Look, it's only a matter of time before Tails or one of the others find us. Chillax, will you?"

Oh, he should not have said that.

"Chillax? CHILLAX?? In case you haven't noticed I don't CHILL and I most certainly don't RELAX when we're stranded in a cave full of GIZOIDS!!!" I screeched at him.

"Aw, is the little putty tat mad at me?" Sonic cooed.

I didn't have time for this. I shoved the map in Sonic's face. "You find our way out of here then, you blue fuzzball!"

Sonic immediately pointed to the right. "That way." He stated.

I gave him a blunt look. "Sonic. You didn't even look at the map."

"Yes, I know. I told you, I always follow my instincts." He replied, and immediately walked through the corridor to the right.

I let out a deep sigh. I had no choice but to follow him.

**POV: Starlight**

"Ok, so this way." I twisted the tracker in my hands. "No, wait. This way. Or…"

Knuckles chuckled. "How about this way, dearest." He twisted the tracker so that it showed where we needed to go.

"Oh." I resisted the blush I felt coming on. I sighed. "I'm no good with these devices of Tails'."

"Finally! Something you and Sonic have in common." Knuckles snickered.

I couldn't help but smile. My brother had never had 'the time' to sit around and learn about the stuff Tails loved. No, all he wanted to do was run, run, run.

"Come on, let's go." Knuckles said and we began walking down another cave corridor.

We had been walking for a while now, and we still were pretty far from the Chaos Emerald. I opened my mouth to say something to Knuckles.

"AHH!" I was sent flying into a cave wall.

"Star! What the-?" Knuckles was punched rapidly in the face.

"Where is it?" I cried, jumping to my feet.

He stumbled back. "I don't know! It's invisible!"

Something punched me in the stomach, knocking the air out of my lungs. I gasped.

Knuckles grabbed at thin air, hurling himself around. "Where is the damn thing?"

I was thrown against the wall, and my back slid up, a strong, metal hand clutching my neck. I was being choked.

"URGH!" I squirmed, kicking my leg out, sending whatever had been holding me flying.

I fell to the ground, panting.

"Knuckles!" I shouted to him.

"What?" He was fighting off something neither of us could see.

"When I say 'now', jump to the ceiling, okay?!" I called.

"Um, okay? OOF!" He was shoved to the ground.

I looked around, desperately, counting in my head. _One…two…three…four…_

_SHUT UP! _Dark snapped. _God, that's annoying._

I ignored her, not only because I had to count, but because I couldn't miss out on an opportunity to agitate Dark. _Five…six…seven…_

I was punched in the face, my eyesight blurring, but I kept counting. I jumped up, and set out a blind kick that made contact with nothing but air.

_Eight…nine…_

Another shove to the stomach. Metal arms wrapping around me, lifting me off the ground…

_Ten._

"NOW!" I screeched.

Knuckled hurled himself up, shoving his fist into the ceiling, leaving him hanging, as I instantly became a miniature tornado and stormed around the room, sending Gizoids flying.

That is…until the Gizoids did the same.

I was hurled to the side again, but skidded to a halt, digging my feet into the ground. The Gizoids had suddenly become visible again, and the room was a blur of flying yellow.

I couldn't see anything. There were too many of them, running around, as fast as me. I blinked, trying to find Knuckles, but suddenly hands covered my eyes.

It was dark for a few seconds, and it was like I was frozen. I couldn't see or move or hear anything.

This was definitely not good.

The hands disappeared, and my eyes opened. It took me a second to take in what was going on.

Gizoids had surrounded both Knuckles and I. They had tied me up with some kind of rope, although it was far stronger than any rope I had ever handled. One Gizoid was trying to tell me something, negotiate with me, but I wasn't paying any attention.

Because a gun was held up to Knuckles' head.

I just stared for a few seconds, frozen yet again, but this time with shock and fear. If the Gizoid pulled that trigger, I would be plunged even further into the endless void of darkness, depression, and guilt.

Inescapably further.

I snapped out of it, as a Gizoid slapped me hard across the face. I gasped, as I tasted blood inside my mouth.

Knuckles snarled. "Get your hands off her!" He shouted, struggling against the Gizoids' grasp.

That only added to another gun being pointed against his head.

"Stop!" I cried. "What do you want?!" I asked the Gizoid, hating myself for the desperate tone in my voice. I was so weak…

The Gizoid standing between us turned to face me. His voice came out robotic and cruel.

"Us want Chaos. Come now or friend die."

Though he didn't speak in full sentences, his message was perfectly clear.

He wanted the Chaos Emerald, and if I didn't give it to him, he was going to kill Knuckles.

"But I don't understand," I said. "We don't have the Emeralds; we thought you did."

"Us can't find Chaos. In cave someplace. You…" He pointed to the tracker that miraculously was still in my hand. "You take us."

So the Emeralds were in here, only the Gizoids couldn't find them. And they wanted me to lead them to the Emeralds.

_Don't you even think about it. _Dark warned.

_You already know I've made up my mind. _I replied.

_Stop trying to play hero. It's suicide if you agree to help them. _

_And it's murder if I don't._

I let out a long sigh. "Fine."

"What?! Star, no, don't you dare take these bastards to the Emerald!" Knuckles cried.

"Let him go, first." I ignored Knuckles, turning to the Gizoid.

I swear, if the Gizoid could have made an evil smile, he would have. "You lead first."

I looked at the tracker. "This way." I pointed straight ahead.

The Gizoid shoved me forward. "Lead." He said, with more demand.

I walked straight ahead, into a new corridor, and turned around just in time to see the Gizoids let go of Knuckles. He snatched his arm away from them, bearing his teeth. Then his eyes flashed to mine, and they locked for a few seconds. I tried as hard as I possibly could to convey a message with my gaze.

_Find the others. Warn them._

His ocean eyes flashed with understanding, but more so with worry. I gave him my best reassuring smile.

Though it was soo entirely fake.

And then big, metal doors, installed in the walls of the cave, closed behind me and I sighed.

"Let's go."

**POV: Blaze**

"See? I told you I'd find a way out." Sonic grinned.

"Sonic, you have no idea if this is the way out or not. It's a massive hole in the ground, with a few vines hanging from the ceiling." I replied.

"Have you never watched Indiana Jones? Or National Treasure? The massive hole with the hanging vines is always the right way." He stated, as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

"Yes, but it is also the most life-threatening way." I sighed.

"Cool." Sonic's grin widened.

I slumped down onto another rock. "Fine. You test it out." I told him.

His grin faded. "But…"

A smug smile crept onto my face. "Well, go on, Mr. Hero."

He sighed this time, and grabbed onto one of the vines. He muttered something under his breath, backing up. Then he dashed forward, leapt into the air, and was hanging, swinging back and forth on the vine.

"Heh. Hey, Blazey, it works!" He shouted to me.

"Hooray for you." I rolled my eyes. "Now get over here and help me."

He swung back and forth like a monkey, then leapt up onto the ledge where I was standing. He made a long, proud bow.

"At your service, me lady."

I crossed my arms and tapped my foot impatiently.

He began to snake his arm around my waist, a seductive smile on his face.

I slapped his arm away. "I have a boyfriend, thank you very much." I snapped at him.

Sonic snorted, grinning. "Never stopped me."

"Just get us to the other side." I huffed.

**POV: Starlight**

I glanced at the tracker occasionally, making sure I was going in the right direction. Meanwhile, I was arguing fervently with Dark.

_Well, __now__ you've gone and done it, we're trapped in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by tons of these scrap heaps, with absolutely no way out without giving them what they want._ Dark scowled.

_Look, I didn't have any other choice. _I replied.

_Hell, yes, you did. Let Mr. Red die and save your own skin! _(**A/N: Sorry, Bureizu, I just ****had**** to use the "Mr. Red" thing…I found it soo funny in Circumstances) **She snapped back at me.

_You know I couldn't do that. Besides, I thought you wanted the Chaos Emeralds. _

_I do. But not to give to __them__! _She pointed back at the Gizoids.

_I have a plan, okay? _I sighed.

_Great. We're doomed._

We were getting closer to the Emerald, and I was growing more and more anxious. Yes, I had a plan, but that didn't mean it would work. Because, really, I had no idea what I was doing.

"Further much?" The Gizoid walking beside me asked.

I shook my head. "We'll be there soon."

Dark was muttering to herself, under her breath, when I interrupted her. _Get ready. _I said.

_Wait, what?_

_Just be ready. _I warned. We were getting very close. Too close.

I looked at the tracker. The dot showing where I was standing was directly on top of the dot showing where the Emerald was.

"It's below us." I told the Gizoid.

_Star…what are you doing? _Dark raised an eyebrow.

The Gizoid's arm became a drill, and the ground shook as it dug into the ground, drilling and drilling.

"Stop!" I shouted. The Gizoid turned back to me, questioning. "You've dug deep enough. Let me go retrieve it." I told him.

The Gizoid nodded, but said "No trying to escape. Will not work."

I nodded in reply. He was right…unless this worked.

I leapt down into the hole the Gizoid had dug, right into another small cavern. The Emerald was lying in a pile of rocks, not ten feet from where I was standing. I took a deep breath.

I was thinking of one thing. And one thing only.

Knuckles. He was safe. He was going to be okay. If this didn't work, he would still get back to the others and help them. He would know that was what I would have wanted him to do.

He knew I loved him.

I walked closer and closer to the Emerald, my pace slow, terrified, and yet ready. Dark was itching with excitement, already starting to claw at the wall between us.

I remembered the first time I had touched a Chaos Emerald, the amazing and terrible feeling that had flowed through me; that had destroyed the Gizoid.

I knelt to the ground, my fingers inching towards the bright red Emerald. I closed my eyes.

_Dark. _I said.

_What? _She replied, irritably. She was so close…

I was silent for a few seconds. I was risking so much, doing this. But it was the only way out. With this many Gizoids, there was no way I could run away. I sucked in a huge breath, then opened my eyes.

_Do your worst._

Then I leapt back and Dark was in control.

**POV: Silver**

There was a sudden rumbling coming from the cave. I clutched the Emerald that Amy and I had managed to recover. I was standing outside of the cave, at the waterfall, with Amy, Tails, and Rouge, who also held an Emerald.

"Where's Sonic?!" Amy cried as boulders started rumbling around from inside the cave.

I watched as the cave began to collapse.

What was going on?

**POV: Blaze**

"Sonic!" I screamed. I was still trying to swing on the vine, and all of the sudden, boulders were flying down the hole underneath me, falling and falling, threatening to take me with them.

"Blaze!" Sonic cried from the ledge he was on.

I was slipping from the vine. A large boulder hit one of my legs, and I yelped in pain. The ceiling was beginning to collapse. I was going to fall.

"Sonic, help!" I found myself crying out. Why was I asking him to help me? I could take care of myself…

But I suddenly found myself wanting nothing more than for us to be lost in the cave again. It was far better than this: groaning from the pain in my surely broken leg, and desperately holding on for my dear life.

"I'm coming!" Sonic shouted to me, and disappeared down another cavern.

I felt a tear slide down my cheek. He wasn't coming…He had abandoned me…I was going to die…

I didn't know what was coming over me, but suddenly tears were flying down my cheeks at a break-neck speed.

Why?!

Rocks crumbled down from the ceiling, dust filled my eyes, and my grip on the vine slackened. I squeezed my eyes shut, ashamed of how I was leaving this world. Blaze, the strong, determined, pyrokinetic cat…killed in a cave collapse, because she followed an idiot.

An idiot who she wanted oh so desperately right now.

"Goodbye." I whispered, and let go.

I braced myself for the pain of my bones snapping, hitting the hard cave floor, but felt…nothing. Strange.

Slowly, I reopened my eyes…

"Sonic!" I gasped, as my eyes took in his bright, green ones.

He grinned at me. "Told you I was coming."

We were flying, literally flying, as Sonic held me in his arms, aboard his hoverboard.

"But…but how?" I asked him, bewildered.

"I left my hoverboard not far from here, and I recognized where we were, so I ran as fast as I could to get it. And I saved you." He puffed out his chest cockily.

I gazed at him for a minute, unsure of the emotions suddenly radiating from me like I was the sun. I was alive…Sonic had saved me…

And then without hesitation I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips against his.

Star and Amy were gonna kill me for this, but right now, I couldn't care less.

**POV: Silver**

Sonic and Blaze suddenly came flying out of the cave, Blaze in his arms. I raised an eyebrow, suspicious, but shoved away the thought, and ran over to Blaze. "Are you alright?" I asked her, genuinely worried.

Strangely enough, she looked guilty. "I…I'm fine, Silver. I hurt my leg, but…that's all." She said. Then she looked around. "Where are Knuckles and Star?"

Rouge chuckled. "Probably back at camp, snogging again."

I opened my mouth to laugh, but stopped abruptly when I saw a flash of red. I turned around.

Knuckles stood there, bent over, hands on his knees, panting. He pointed desperately at the cave, crying out.

"Starlight's still in there!"

**A/N: Hmm…so we're finally getting somewhere. Will Starlight survive? What exactly happened? And…is there possibly something going on between Sonic and Blaze?**

**Sorry this took so terribly long to get out; I hope the length of it makes up for that. :)**


	13. Flood

**POV: Starlight**

I was afraid to open my eyes.

I didn't know what to expect. Would I be covered in blood? Or covered in scrap metal? How many broken limbs did I have? I could have sworn I felt at least two when the cave had begun to collapse.

The funny thing was that I didn't feel…anything. No pain, at least. Nothing other than a strange vibrating feeling coming from my right hand.

All I could remember of what happened was seeing my arms become a dark, dark blue, and then boulders coming from nowhere, the room plunging into darkness. I remembered fighting against Dark when I realized she was going too far, eventually re-gaining control, and then collapsing when a sharp pain hit my head.

I sighed. Alright, I had to open my eyes. I couldn't put it off any longer. Besides, now was the time to gather my bearings, while Dark was unconscious.

Slowly, I let my top eyelashes separate from my bottom ones. I looked around me, very slowly. I saw that in my hand was a Chaos Emerald, though it wasn't glowing nearly as brightly as it usually did.

And there was also quite a bit of blood.

I bit my lip. I didn't feel anything, and I wasn't sure I wanted to. But I had to check my injuries.

I slowly stretched my muscles. They felt…fine. I wasn't in any sort of pain at all.

I fully twisted around, getting a good look at myself. Other than a few cuts and bruises, I wasn't injured at all.

But…where had the blood come from? Gizoids didn't bleed. The only explanation was if someone else was here and the boulders had…I shuddered. No. Knuckles had gotten everyone out safely. I had faith in him.

So, really, the only explanation was that it was me. Plus, my clothes were stained red in several places. But it didn't make any sense. It couldn't be me, if I had such minimal injuries.

I figured that I should take a look around, and hope to God that I wouldn't find the person the blood belonged to. I had a weak stomach when it came to those sort of things…

I slowly stood up, taking in my surroundings. The large cave room was now a much-smaller one, as several boulders had collapsed into it. The boulders had blocked the doors that lead to the place where I last saw Knuckles…

I shook my head. No time for feeling sorry for myself. I needed to figure out where I was, and find a way out. Fast. The blood belonged to…someone. As of now, it wasn't my concern.

I looked around the wreckage of shattered rocks and scrap metal, pocketing the Chaos Emerald as I did such. I was searching for the tracker Tails had given to me, as well as any other useful supplies.

I winced when I found the torn-off head of a Gizoid, the red, mechanical eyes shattered to pieces. I gingerly reached my hand into the socket, and pulled out a computer chip.

_Hmm…_ I thought. _Heck, I may as well take it. _I pocketed the chip.

I searched around more…and then sighed. For lying a few feet away from me was a completely smashed tracker.

_Great. __Now__ what do I do? _

A great big yawn followed my thought.

_Urgh…she's awake…as if the situation could get any worse…_ I thought.

Dark smiled smugly, reclining in my head, remembering…well, whenever it was that she had taken control. I didn't know how long I'd been out.

_Morning, Sleeping Beauty. _I said to her, dryly.

_Morning, dumbass._ She replied, yawning again.

I decided I was just going to have to wander around and try to find my way out. As chancy as that was, I didn't really have any other choice.

_What's in your pocket? _Dark asked.

_Computer chip._ I replied, walking towards one side of the cave room and peeking into the two passageways it led off to.

_And…you have that why exactly? _She raised any eyebrow.

_I don't know, Dark! Just because. Now, please shut up, so I can focus._ I snapped at her.

She muttered obscenities to herself, mostly about me, but I paid no attention, as I walked off towards God knows where…

**POV: Knuckles**

"ARAGH!"

I shoved my fist into the giant boulder again, heaving away as much as I could. This was becoming impossible. There were too many rocks, reinforced with some kind of super-strong metal, most likely made by the Gizoids.

I was becoming desperate. My namesakes had become bloody, and I wasn't getting anywhere.

"ARAGH!!!" I pushed into the rock with all my strength, not caring as a sharp pain flew through my hand.

"Knuckles…" A female voice said, worriedly.

I paid no attention. Now I was just mindlessly throwing my fists into the rock, the whole time just thinking, _I've failed. I've failed her. I've failed myself. _

"Knuckles, please…"

"No." I wasn't sure if I was responding to the female, or if I was in denial of the fact that I had failed. I collapsed to my knees, sweat dripping down my dreadlocks, unsure of what to do.

The devastated feeling in my chest was all too similar to the one I had felt when Star had broken her spine, and miraculously survived. She was everything to me now. I had long since accepted that fact. Which was why I was here, trying to reach her, instead of guarding the Master Emerald. And when everything that matters to you is trapped in a cave…well, you can imagine the feeling.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and realized it was Amy's. She had been the one telling me to stop, I assumed.

She pulled something out of her dress pocket. I didn't realize what it was until she had wrapped it around my hand. It was a bandage.

"Thanks." I muttered softly.

"You're welcome…" She paused to glance back at the others. "Sonic's making some progress, I think." She said, in a feeble attempt to try to cheer me up. I knew that it was a white lie.

"Amy, I know quite well we're getting nowhere. Blaze has been melting that rock for hours now, and Silver can hardly lift any of the rocks, because apparently the metal messes with his telekinesis. Rouge broke her toe on the first kick, Sonic's been spin-dashing for as long as I can remember, and has maybe made it…what three inches in? Two? Tails has thrown every kind of contraption he can out here, and he hasn't made any progress. And, of course, Shadow's abandoned us." I replied.

That last part made me angry. If Shadow really cared for Star that much, he would be here, right now. But he wasn't. One part of me, the envious one, was glad about that fact. The other, the part that genuinely wanted Star safe more than anything, knew we needed all the help we could get.

"I know…" Amy replied sadly. But suddenly her voice took on a completely different tone. "But that's not going to stop us!"

I kept my eyes on the ground, images of Star flashing through my mind. I bent my head, and sighed. I had done a terrible job. This was her second near-death experience. In less than four months. Maybe I wasn't a very good guardian after all...

I slowly raised my eyes to meet Amy's…and nearly jumped out of my own fur.

She was looking at me like…there are honestly no words to explain it. Her eyes bored holes into mine, and I backed away a bit, rather frightened by the intensity of her glare.

"What kind of boyfriend are you?!" She asked me, incredulous.

"…What?" I blinked.

"You're just going to give up?! Just like that?! Like…like you don't give a crap?!! But you love her!!! I know damn well you do!! Stop acting like you don't, you fur-brained echidna!!! I know what it is you wanna do! You wanna hold her, you wanna squeeze her, you wanna love her like there ain't no flippin' tomorrow until you can't hardly tell which way is up and which is down!!!" Amy screeched at me.

My cheeks turned red when I realized how true her words were…

The others had stopped momentarily, watching Amy scream at me, rather amused looks on their faces.

I put my hands up, trying to settle her down. "Amy, I'm not giving up, I would never give up on Star, you know that, I'm just-"

She cut me off. "So, YOU, my friend, are gonna get your fur-brained ass up to that rock, and you're gonna punch at it with all your flippin' strength until your hands start bleeding through the flippin' bandage I gave you!!!" She yelled, pointing her finger at the rock sharply, like I was a naughty puppy, or something. And, truth be told, from the way she was looking at me, I rather felt like one.

And suddenly I realized she was right. Sitting here feeling sorry for myself wasn't going to get me to Star. Who was exactly who I needed to be with.

So I rose to my feet, and started again, thinking to myself, _I'm coming, Star. And this time, I swear, nothing will stop me._

**POV: Starlight**

_I'm huuunnnngggrrrryyyy!!! _

I kept walking.

_Ungh…we haven't eaten in hoooouuuurrrssss…._

I gritted my teeth.

_I'm hunnnnggg-_

_OKAY! GOOD GOD! _I shouted at Dark, who had been complaining for the last hour. I wasn't usually this impatient, but it didn't help that I was just as hungry as she was.

She smirked. Great…she had just been doing it to annoy me.

_Do you ever get tired of annoying me for no apparent reason?_ I asked her.

_You think I have anything else to do in here? _She asked.

I supposed she had a point.

Our situation was getting worse. We had been walking for a few hours now, with no food or water, and I knew I was getting dehydrated, which was making me edgy. Every hallway looked the same in this cave, and every opening I thought I had found was either covered by boulders, or too narrow for me to squeeze through. I had tried spin-dashing several times, and had hardly made a dent.

I slumped down on a rock, one of the thousands surrounding me, and sighed. My throat was parched, Dark was cranky, and by now my stomach was probably trying to eat itself.

I remembered that morning with Knuckles, the first real time I had ever spent with him…setting the omelet on fire…waking up with nothing but a robe…I found myself giggling at the memory. If only he was here now…

My eyes trailed along the ugly grey walls…I was so sick of rocks…

I stopped.

One of them looked…peculiar. Unless I was hallucinating, which certainly wouldn't surprise me. As if I wasn't already insane…

I slowly rose to my feet, both Dark and my legs groaning in protest. I walked over to the peculiar looking rock, and found strange markings on it, along with a narrow little slit. No, I definitely wasn't hallucinating. I slipped off my glove so that I could more accurately feel it.

My fingers found the slit, which was about three inches long, and maybe a centimeter tall. Suddenly, I realized what it could be.

_Heh. Glad I kept this. _I pulled out the computer chip that I had gotten from the Gizoid. I was beginning to think it wasn't a computer chip at all…but an access card.

I slowly slipped the card into the slit, cringing slightly at what I feared it could cause. Sure, it was a risky move, as I had no idea what it could do, but, considering the fact that if I didn't get out of here soon…well, it wasn't going to be good, I didn't really have another choice.

I yelped when the wall beside me split in two, moving aside like a pair of sliding doors.

I took a deep breath, calming my racing heart, and took a peek into the room the doors had concealed.

I gasped. Sitting in the middle of the room was a magnificent machine, churning and bubbling, with about a billion buttons on its left side. The room was actually lit up, as there were several cracks in the ceiling, which let in light, that was reflected off of mirrors until it finally hit a certain spot on machine. I supposed the light was what was powering the machine, for as far as I knew, we had taken all the Chaos Emeralds from the Gizoids.

Speaking of Gizoids, I realized there weren't any in the room. They had probably evacuated the cave when it had collapsed.

I carefully slipped into the room, looking out for any cameras. If this machine powered the caves…maybe it powered the doors. And then I could get out.

I walked over to the control panel, my mind already becoming a whir just by looking at all of the buttons.

"How do they possibly keep track of all of these?" I whispered aloud, examining them. One was blue, the other red (I stayed away from that one. I had watched cartoons before. Stay away from the big red button.), another green, and so on and so forth. There was every color in the rainbow, and not a single one of them was labeled.

Above the control panel was a large computer screen. It was cracked slightly from a rock hitting it, so it flickered every once and a while, but I could still make out what it was picturing. It showed the different rooms of the cave, and the amount of power going to each. A map!

I carefully looked over the map, trying to make sense of it. I was apparently on the west side, in the Control Room. There were several doors that opened to the outside, but six of them said 'Out of Order.' I assumed it was because of the cave collapse.

I noticed the only set of working doors were shown on the screen as aqua blue. I looked down at the control panel. There were tons of aqua blue buttons. I sighed. This was impossible.

_Oohh…I wonder what this button does…_ Dark said, trying to take over my hand and reach for a button that was underneath a container of glass.

_Uh…no. Dark, if a big red button isn't bad enough, a big button under a container of __glass __is really bad. _I told her.

_But, look. _She pointed to a set of doors on the side of the Control Room, which had aqua blue circles on them.

_I'm starting to think the Gizoids just did this as a way to confuse anyone who happened to walk in here ._I thought dryly.

_Star, what's the worse that can happen if we push a few buttons? Oh my God, a DOOR might open!!! _Dark exclaimed with mock fear.

I narrowed my eyes. _Yes, or the place might self-destruct._

_Please. Trust me; evil people don't do that anymore. It's too much of a hassle to try and figure out ways to destroy the entire area. _Dark said matter-of-factly.

_Oh, really? _

_Yep._

I sighed. _Well then, what do you suggest we do Miss Know-it-all?_

_Press the button under the glass. _She said simply.

_You just wanna do that 'cause you think it might kill me. _I told her.

_No. 'Cause then I would die too, you idiot. _She rolled her eyes.

_Well, I'm not going to press the button because-_

_GOTCHA!_

Dark suddenly shoved herself against the wall between us, taking control. She flipped open the container and pressed the button.

_Dark! What the-…uh oh. _I stared.

_Shit…_ Dark mumbled, rather aggravated it hadn't been what she was hoping for, which had been a room that led to another Chaos Emerald.

Instead, it appeared to be the room that held all of the water. Water that was now rushing towards us in a massive flood.

_RUN!!!! _Dark and I both screamed at the same time.

**POV: Silver**

I found it hard to stay focused on the task at hand. For multiple reasons. For one thing, the metal was messing with my powers, confusing me. And the other was that Blaze was avoiding me. I didn't understand why. Had I done something wrong? She had this guilty look on her face that I had never seen before. We had always been so close…

I jumped as there was a giant crash. I ran over to find Knuckles, with a huge grin on his face.

He turned to me, and said, "I'm in."

**POV: Dark**

_Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP!!!_

The water was catching up to us, despite Star running as fast as she could without running into the walls of the cave.

I knew that pressing the button had been foolish, idiotic even, but I had let my thirst for power take control. Every time I had laid my hands around a Chaos Emerald…I had felt that terribly wonderful energy flow through my veins…it was like a drug. And now that I had felt it twice…I wanted more. Much more. And I would need much more if my plan was to work…

But I didn't have time to plan as the water rushed right on our heels, chasing us through the passageways of the cave, roaring like God knows what…

_Faster!! _I screeched at Star.

_I can't! I'll run into the wall! _She cried.

_Argh…_ I was getting really nervous, an unusual emotion for me. I forced myself past the wall of her control, but only halfway. It was quite strange. Imagine this. You're controlling one half of your body, while another is controlling the other half. It was extremely uncomfortable (as if I didn't already hate sharing enough) but it allowed us to run faster, and with both of our senses, we could change directions more quickly so that we didn't run into anything.

Star bit her lip, or, er, one side of our lip. _This isn't good…_

_Where do we go?!! _I really did not feel like drowning today.

_Just keep running... _Star was trying desperately to keep calm, and was failing.

We drifted, changing direction and heading down another passageway. The water was right on our heels…it felt like it was coming from everywhere…

Star completely lost all of her calm. _I'm sorry, Dark, but you are a complete and utter __dumbass__!!! _She cried, squeezing the eye on the side she was controlling shut.

_Just FOCUS, okay?!! _I shouted at her.

She re-opened her eye…then stopped running altogether. She was completely frozen.

Now I was pissed. _What are you DOING?!!! _I screeched at her. Now it felt like one half of me was paralyzed and I was having to drag it along.

Slowly, her arm came up and pointed forward. I followed its point…and gasped.

Not the red bastard…

"KNUCKLES!!!" Star took complete control and raced over to him.

**POV: Knuckles**

"STAR!" I cried as she ran towards me. A brilliant grin lit her face, and mine too, that is…until I saw the giant wave of water right behind her…

**POV: Starlight**

"Knuckles…" I threw myself into his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing my lips against his. I sighed dreamily, wanting to enjoy this moment.

Then I remembered…

I screamed as I saw the giant wave literally five feet away from us.

I pulled him into my own arms, and started running again, carrying him.

"HOLY MOTHER OF-!!!" Knuckles began, staring back at the wave behind us, but I pressed my finger against his lips, running faster, my eyes wide with fear.

Knuckles' eyes were wide as well, until he fully realized that I was carrying him. "Uh, Star…I think traditionally it's me who should be carrying you…" He muttered as I held him close, like a protective mother, drifting to the side again.

"Where did you come in from?!" I shrieked at him, ignoring his last comment, glancing back, and nearly falling when I realized how close the water was.

"Right over there!" He shouted and pointed to a passageway to the left.

_We're not going to make it…_ I realized.

_We're dead. Humph. All that work for nothing… _Dark muttered.

I tried, in one last feeble attempt, to increase my speed, but the water swallowed us before I could place another foot forward.

**POV: Sonic**

I tapped my foot impatiently. Knuckles had been gone for a bit now, insisting that he go instead of me. I apparently needed to stay and watch the others. Personally, I think he just wanted to be able to make-out with Star when he found her without me seeing.

The cave was making strange noises again, but I didn't pay much attention. I was worried about Blaze. Her leg had been broken in the cave, and Tails was still tending to it. For some reason his machine that healed bones wasn't working nearly as quickly as it had with Star…but that was probably because she has been with Knuckles. Which made me think that I should be in there with her, but then I remembered I wasn't her boyfriend. Silver was.

I sighed. If only that wasn't true.

The noises in the cave were getting louder, and I twitched my ear, straining to hear. It sounded like…

Water?

**POV: Starlight**

Of three things I was absolutely certain.

One, I was drowning.

Two, my hand was still firmly closed around Knuckles' and neither of us were letting go.

Three, I had no clue which way was up and which was down.

My eyes were squeezed close, my lungs screaming for more oxygen, my legs kicking, trying to find the surface, my body doing somersaults over and over again as the wave raced through the cave.

I was losing all sense of everything, and was afraid Knuckles might be doing the same.

I squeezed his hand, making sure he was still there.

He squeezed back.

Somehow that tiny gesture made tears well up in my eyes. Thank God…We needed each other now.

I tried pulling him closer to me, but the force of the wave was too much. We were having enough trouble as it was just holding on to one another. But we were. We were holding on. If death found us…well, at least we were together.

My lungs weren't able to take it anymore, as my head began to pound. I was starting to think about letting go…just letting the water take me...

Suddenly, it was gone.

I took in a huge, gasping breath, coughing up a spurt of water, as I felt arms pulling me towards them. I blinked at sudden light, and realized we had fallen out of the cave to where Sonic and the others were.

"Star!" I heard Sonic say.

"Hey…" I panted, twitching an exhausted smile at him. I turned around. "…Knuckles?"

He was kneeling a few feet away from me, panting as well. He sighed, then looked at me. "…Okay, that's…that's it…Star…you and I…are gonna go on…on a completely…non life-threatening...date…" He said, then collapsed onto his back.

I took another deep breath, grinning, then chuckling, then laughing, and then I was cracking up. I laid on my back beside him, laughing so hard my stomach was aching, and I rolled over so that my face was inches from his.

"I love you." I whispered to him.

He grinned. "I love you too, you un-lucky little son of a-"

I stopped him by firmly pressing my lips against his, and pulling him into a warm embrace.

**Heh. So, it's not my best chapter, and there was a bunch of crack, but, hey. I certainly enjoyed typing it. Next chapter should be interesting…Knux and Star go on a date. Still a lot of unanswered questions, but they will be answered soon. **

**I probably won't update for a while, as I'm gone for about a week starting this Saturday. Hopefully I will have some internet access, however.**

**Anyway, enough of my blabber, thanks for reading and please review! Hope you liked!**


	14. Music

**POV: Starlight**

I gulped as the school bell rang. Only two hours now.

It was ridiculous. That I was so incredibly nervous, I mean. He was my…well, boyfriend! I loved him, I knew that much. But a date? What did you do on dates? Yes, I had been on a few dates with other guys, but this was different. Very different. This was with Knuckles.

I sighed. Very different, indeed.

I followed the swarm of teenagers as they flew down the halls of the school to their lockers, most shouting about what they were doing this weekend, and other things that I didn't have the time or patience to listen to. I made my way to my locker, and began to put in my locker combination, when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I shrieked, and whirled around, holding my backpack up as a weapon.

Sonic stood there with an eye-brow raised, an amused look on his face. "Wow, Star, I haven't seen you this nervous since your last trip to the dentist!" He said, a grin appearing on his lips.

I exhaled, lowering the backpack, and gave him a playful shove. "What do you want, Sonic?"

He sighed, and we began to walk together. "I need some advice."

I raised my eye-brows in mock surprise. "The famous blue hedgehog needs advice from me? I feel so honored!"

He turned and gave me a genuine look of need. "I'm serious."

I immediately shut up. The look Sonic had just given me was rare, very rare. It was his brother-to-sister look. "What is it?" I asked, sounding genuinely concerned as well.

"…I…You girls…How do we get you to like us?" He asked, struggling with what to say. Yet another rare thing.

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

He sighed, and stopped walking, turning to face me completely. "It's Blaze. What do I have to do to get her to like me?"

"Sonic…" I said, both worried and warning. "You know she's with Silver."

"Exactly. But she and I kissed, Star."

Dark was suddenly very alert, her eyes wide, her thoughts beginning to scramble. I immediately pushed her away.

"What?!" I exclaimed.

Sonic immediately clamped a hand over my mouth, and looked around suspiciously. Several students were giving us odd looks. "Maybe we should talk somewhere else…"

I wrenched his hand away. "Oh, no, mister. You're telling me right now." I put my hands on my hips.

Sonic's lips twisted into a grin. "The old big sis is back. I'm glad."

I let my arms fall back to their sides and smiled sadly. If only he were right…the 'old big sis' was actually becoming more and more scarce. I just tried extra hard around Sonic. I didn't want him to worry about me.

"Yes, well, explain." I told him.

He sighed. "So, you know when I saved Blaze from the cave collapse?"

"You did?" I raised an eyebrow.

He grinned. "Yep."

I shrugged. "Heh, well, that certainly gets her attention. Go on." I smiled.

"As we were flying out, she was crying and all of the sudden, she just kissed me. Out of the blue, just pressed her lips against mine. But, Star, it was the most amazing thing I've ever felt." He told me.

Sonic looked really happy. He really cared for a girl. And he obviously really needed my help. So, of course, the first thing that came out of my mouth was:

"Amy's not going to be happy." I stated.

Sonic gave me a dry look. "…Thanks, Star." Then he sighed. "Like I care. And that's beside the point. The point is that Blaze has been avoiding me ever since. Did I…did I do something wrong?" He asked, really not understanding.

I sighed, but grinned at Sonic's ignorance. "Sonic, you really are clueless when it comes to girls. Well, obviously, she feels guilty about cheating on Silver, sad because she knows she really wants to be with you, unsure because she doesn't want to hurt Silver, angry because she can't control herself, shy because-"

Sonic interrupted. "Excuse me, but…is it even possible to feel all of those emotions? I mean…just thinking about all that makes me dizzy."

I rolled my eyes. "Guys." I turned to him and said, "Just be you, Sonic. If she really likes you, that's all that matters. And give her a flower, or something. She likes orchids, by the way." I winked at him.

"Orchids? Aren't those really expensive?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, as if you couldn't afford them, Mr. Save the World." I elbowed him.

He smiled. "Oh, alright. If it's for Blaze. Oh, I've got to go but," He leaned in close and whispered into my ear. "Watch out for Knuckles. I saw him eyeing you earlier. I have a feeling he's got some big plans for tonight…" Sonic wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I straightened up and gave him a look. "I ought to slap you."

He snickered. "It was a joke, Star. Just a joke. Anyway, good luck." He winked at me, then dashed off.

I shook my head slowly, rather amused. Luck. Heh.

I needed it.

I made my way out of the school and to my shining yellow Lamborghini, otherwise known as my baby, and slipped into it. I revved up the engine, and drove home, where I knew I was about to endure two hours of torture.

****

I was terrible at this.

I stood in front of the mirror, wearing a pair of black jeans and a nice turquoise top. My quills were up in a pony-tail. This looked okay…right?

No, of course it didn't. We were going to Jack's, the fanciest restaurant this side of the Earth. I couldn't go in jeans.

I stripped off my clothes again, throwing them on the ever-growing pile in the corner of my room. I let down my quills, and sighed. I needed an expert. There was Amy…I cringed. Much as I would hate what she would put me through, she would make me look better in the end. I hesitated, but eventually picked up the phone and called her.

"Amy?" I asked when it stopped ringing.

"_I'm already on my way over." _Came the immediate response.

I blinked. "Wow. Really?" I asked.

"_Duh. Star, I already know you have zero fashion sense. I'm not letting you go out with Knuckles looking like a clown." _Amy replied.

"…Thanks." I said, dryly.

"_No problem. See you in a few." _Amy said, then hung up.

I couldn't keep still. I waited in my bedroom, pacing around my room like a…like a bride before her wedding.

My eyes widened and I immediately shook my head, clearing away that image. It was a bit soon to be thinking about stuff like that…

I jumped when the door of my bedroom flew open, and Amy immediately stalked in, already beginning to arrange things on my vanity, and dig through my closet.

"What time do you have to meet him again?" Amy asked, as she threw various dresses and shoes onto my bed.

"Uh…5:00…" I replied, watching her anxiously.

She stood up and looked me over. "Well, we don't have much time, but I'll do what I can."

_Here we go… _I thought.

_****_

"Okay. You can look now." Amy said, her tone satisfied.

I slowly opened my eyes, both excited and terrified to see what she had done to me.

My eyes found the mirror.

I didn't know the girl looking back at me. And yet, her eye-lids blinked in the same rhythm as mine, and her jaw was also agape. But, how could she be me? Her quills were piled high above her head in an extravagant up-do. Her eyes were coated in a gold eye-shadow with several layers of mascara and eye-liner, bringing out the green of her irises. Her fur literally glittered, as Amy had applied some kind of special glitter conditioner to it, and she was wearing a long, black dress. She looked dark and mysterious, yet pure and innocent at the same time.

"Amy…I…wow." I managed to breathe.

"You're welcome." Amy smiled.

_Hm. Actually, it's not awful. I like the dress, and the eye-liner…hmmm… _Dark thought.

I would have been irritated by this comment, as of course the dress and eye-liner were the 'dark and mysterious' part, but it was impossible for me to be angry right now. I drew Amy into a big hug, holding her tight.

"You're the best, Ames."

"I know." She shrugged.

When I opened my eyes, I found the clock.

"Crap!" I cried, and instantly grabbed my purse. "It's 4:55! I'm gonna be late!"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Star, that's a good thing. I purposefully took my time so you would be late."

"What?! Why?!" I exclaimed, frantically grabbing my car keys, and rushing out to the garage, Amy on my heels.

"Because it's a test. If the guy really likes you, he'll wait as long as he has to and won't be angry. If he leaves, or if he's angry, he's a jerk." Amy said, as if it was the most logical thing on the planet.

I sighed. Classic Amy. But I turned and smiled at her. "Wish me luck." I said, then climbed into the front seat of my Lamborghini.

"Good luck!" Amy said. I could have sworn I heard her mutter, "You need it."

***

About ten minutes later, when I pulled into Knuckles' driveway, the sky was getting cloudy.

"It's gonna storm soon." I said to no one in particular.

Dark glanced up at the sky, shrugged, and closed her eyes again, rather bored with this whole date thing. Or so, she acted like it.

I pulled my coat over my shoulders, and parked the car. I walked up to Knuckles' front door and knocked.

"Just a minute!" I heard someone call from inside.

The door swung open, revealing Knuckles' robot. He was a peculiar little guy, about a foot shorter than me, and with no real eyes. He had robotic arms, and wheels for feet, and his 'head' was angled up at me. "Hello, Miss Star." He said, it's robotic voice strangely cheerful.

"Oh, uh, hello. Is your…er, master, here?" I asked him, taking a peek inside.

"Yes, Miss Star. He's quite excited to see you. In fact, earlier he was pacing around his room, wringing his hands, and-"

"That's quite enough, Axel." Knuckles walked into the room, chuckling softly.

For the second time that night, my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. I probably looked like some kind of idiot, but I couldn't help it.

Knuckles was wearing a tuxedo. A very nice-looking, expensive, black tuxedo. VERY nice-looking. In more ways than one.

His dreadlocks were combed back, and his ocean blue irises were looking at me in a way that sent chills down my spine. No, not seductively, but…oh, I don't even know. He just looked amazing.

"Wow, Star…you look amazing." He walked up to me, a grin on his face, looking slightly stunned, and I giggled a bit, feeling a bit giddy.

I did a little twirl for him. "You like?" I asked.

"Oh, yes. I like." He grinned wider.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing my face inches from his. Our noses touched, as I looked into his eyes."I wanna ask you something." I told him.

His eyes widened and he nodded immediately, and I could tell he was both anxious and very excited about what he thought I was about to do.

I leaned closer, and let my breath tickle his neck. Then I whispered in his ear.

"…What kind of name is Axel for a robot maid?"

Knuckles laughed, both relieved and disappointed, and whispered back. "Too much 'Guitar Hero'. He chose the name for himself."

I smiled. "I see."

He put his arm around my waist. "Come on, let's go. We'll be late for our reservation."

I cuddled my head against his shoulder, making him grin. He opened the door, and we stepped outside.

…To find a massive thunderstorm.

It was pouring down rain. Heaven had truly unleashed the floodgates. The wind was howling, sending rain in all directions, and almost instantly Knuckles and I were soaking wet.

It was difficult to see anything, but the trees were swaying ferociously, and it felt like Angel Island, itself, was practically swaying.

Suddenly, a terrible snapping noise was heard, and I scrunched my eyes closed, waiting for my fourth near-death experience of my life. Jeez, this was becoming an almost regular occurrence for me…

However, said experience did not come. So, I slowly opened my eyes.

A tree had split in two, falling on my precious Lamborghini, as well as Knuckles' Cadillac.

One would expect us both to be absolutely horrified about this. And for a few seconds we were. We both stood there, our mouths agape.

And then we were cracking up. For some reason, it was just sooo funny that a giant tree had crushed both of our really nice cars. We fell to the asphalt ground, where the rain continued to pound us, just laughing like there was no tomorrow. And, God, it was an amazing feeling. I hadn't laughed like this in ages.

When our laughs finally died down to the occasional chuckle, or giggle, in my case, Knuckles stood up, and helped me to my feet. "Come on. You're soaking wet, and we have nowhere to go. Let's get you cleaned up."

"You're soaking wet, too." I pointed out.

He smiled. "Yes, but I'm much more concerned about you being wet."

I gave him a look. "And, why exactly are you so concerned?" I asked.

He gave me a genuine look of care. "Because you're you, Star."

I blinked and I felt my cheeks flush bright red. "I…I…well…Thanks, Knux." I said, shyly.

He smiled my favorite crooked smile, then shook his head. "Eh, well, now that I'm done being out of character." He grabbed me in his arms and carried me into the house, bridal style, causing me to start laughing all over again.

"That wasn't out of character, Knuckles. That's just a side of you that you only show me." I giggled, trying to sound serious, but failing as he carried me up-stairs to one of the bathrooms.

"Yeah. I know." He said, softly.

He set me down next to the bathroom door, and grabbed a towel. "Here." He handed it to me, and I began to dry off.

"I must look a wreck…" I muttered.

"Hmm?" Knuckles asked as he grabbed a towel for himself.

"Nothing." I chuckled. "I suppose I'm going to have to stay in this dress."

"Well, I never did give you back those clothes from when you first came here…" He confessed.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Ahehe. Yeah, well, lemme go get 'em." He quickly ran back down the stairs.

I sighed, shaking my head amusedly, and sat on the vanity in the bathroom while I waited. I was more content than I had been in a while, despite the fact that I was still quite wet, and my make-up was ruined, along with my hair. I glanced around the bathroom. It was a plain white color, with a nice shower and all the stuff a bathroom usually had. But a certain picture caught my eye.

I leaned a bit closer, furrowing my eyebrows and frowning, curious.

It was of a very young red echidna, wrestling with a much older red echidna. The older echidna's color was a slightly deeper, more rustic red than the young echidna's. The young one was laughing, and the older echidna was looking down at what Star figured was his son with a fond smile. They were playing in front of…Star looked closer. It looked like the Master Emerald temple. Only not in ruins.

My frown turned to a slight smile.

I gently lifted the picture off of the wall, and carried it downstairs. I found Knuckles in his bedroom, digging through a dresser.

I approached him slowly, then said softly, "Is this your father, Knux?"

He looked up. "Wha-" Then he stopped, his eyes finding the picture. "…Yeah. That's my dad."

I smiled, and sat down on his bed. "You look just like him." I said, still looking at the picture.

Knuckles chuckled. "Yeah, that's what Ma used to say."

"What…what happened to them?" I asked him, cautiously, hoping I wasn't intruding on something private or personal.

He sighed. "Same with what happened to every other echidna I've ever known. They were wiped out in the wars. I was the only one left…" He shook his head, closing his eyes. Then he opened them, and turned to look at me. "That's why everybody thinks I'm some kind of hermit, Star. They don't understand that I guard the Master Emerald not only because it's my duty…but also…because it's all I have left of them." He said, sadly, his eyes finding the floor once more.

We were both silent for a few minutes. Me, I was a bit shocked, I suppose. Who would have known Knuckles and I had shared such similar experiences? Of course, his experience wasn't his fault…but that was beside the point. I slowly slid myself off the bed, and put my arms around him, pulling him into an embrace.

He turned and our eyes met. Emeralds and sapphires melting together. He smiled. "But the past's the past, and there's nothing we can do to change that. The future…that's what we have to think about." He handed me a pile of clothing. "Here are your clothes, my dear. Meet me in the kitchen when you're dressed. I'm starved."

I nodded, and went back to the bathroom.

**POV: Knuckles**

I came into my kitchen, and set my I-pod into the speakers on the counter. My kitchen was one of my favorite rooms of the house. It was nice, with black granite counters, an island, big stainless steel refrigerator, dish washer, stove, microwave, the works. The floor was a light-colored hardwood, the walls painted red.

I turned on some music, cranked up the volume, and opened the door of the refrigerator. I already knew what I was going to make. A classic for Star and I.

I pulled out some eggs, cheese, and ham, and started melting butter on a frying pan.

I heard someone come down the stairs, and turned around.

Star stood there, her quills now down around her shoulders again, her make-up fixed, her fur still shining. She looked as lovely as she always did. She was wearing a…

"Wait. That's the same black dress from earlier." I pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"You have a dryer, Knuckles." Star winked.

"So that's why you took so long…" I said.

She surprised me by walking up to me and pecking me on the cheek.

I sighed. "You're purposefully trying to drive me nuts, aren't you? With that dress, and that look in your eye…You have no idea how much I wanna kiss you right now."

"Good." Star grinned, and came over to the stove. "Omelettes?" She raised an eyebrow, then laughed. "Some things never change." She said.

"Hey, they're good." I shrugged, chuckling myself, and cracked an egg into the pan.

Starlight walked over to where my I-Pod was playing some Foreigner song. She bent over, and started to scroll through the songs.

"Hmm…" She said thoughtfully. "Aha!"

"What are you-" I stopped, when I recognized what song was playing. "Oh, I see." I grinned.

Star grabbed a spatula from one of the drawers, and began to sing into it like it was a microphone.

"_Just a small town girl...livin' in a lonely world. She took the midnight train goin' anywhere…" _She ran back to the I-pod and cranked it up ever louder.

I chuckled, and sang as I cooked. "_Just a city boy…born and raised in South Detroit…, he took the midnight train goin' anywhere."_

Star began to twirl around the room, dancing in tune with the music. "_A singer in a smokey room…" _She threw her head back and laughed, caught up in the moment. She stumbled and nearly fell, but I caught her.

"Well, you've certainly perked up since I first met you." I said, giving her what she called my 'crooked smile'.

She laughed again. "Nah, it's just that Dark isn't doing anything to drive me insane right now, so I-" Star stopped, clasping a hand over her mouth.

**POV: Starlight**

_Crap._

_Way to go, Einstein. _Dark muttered.

_It was an accident…_ I thought, anxiously.

Dark sighed. _Well, seeing as I apparently haven't been doing a very good job of making you miserable today, here ya go._

Dark knew my weak spots. She knew them well. She knew she could control me with them. She sent pictures hurling through my mind, all of my parents, and all just giving more evidence of how it was my fault.

**POV: Knuckles**

"…Star? Hey, Star, you okay?" I gave her a concerned look, as her face had suddenly gone from shining and happy to that same old depressed look.

"…I'm fine." She sighed, and went to sit down on the couch, bringing her knees up and hugging them. She put her head down and let it rest on them.

I bit my lip, unsure of what to do. I slowly followed her, sitting next to her on the couch. "…Hey, if you wanna tell me something…you know you can, right? I mean, if this Dark person ever hurt you, or…" I trailed off.

Star raised her head from its position atop her knees, and looked at me with tears in her eyes. She smiled sadly. "It's ok, Knux. Thank you. I'm fine, I just…" She sighed again, and turned to lie down on the couch, nestling her head on a pillow.

I watched her, trying to think of a way to cheer her up. A few minutes ago she had been so happy…

Suddenly I knew what to do. She had once told me something…I ran back to my I-pod, and immediately began searching for the song.

I found it, and pressed the center button. I smiled as it began to play.

I saw Star's ears perk up slightly. She had once told me this was one of her favorite romantic songs. It was the song her parents had danced to on their wedding.

It started off with a soft piano tune. Then came the lyrics. I sat next to her, wrapped my arms around her, and let her rest against me. I sang the lyrics in her ear.

"_It's a little bit funny…this feeling inside…I'm not one of those who can…easily hide. Oh, I don't have much money, but…girl, if I did…I'd buy a big house where we both could live." _I gently stroked her back.

A few tears escaped her eyes, and she moved so that her head was resting against my chest.

I watched the wall, as I smoothed a hand over her quills, and continued to sing softly. "_If I was a sculptor…heh, but then again, no…just a man who makes potions in the…travelling show. Well I, I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do. My gift is my song, girl, and this one's for you._"

I slowly stood up, taking her hand and pulling her with me. I wanted her to understand.

She wrapped her arms around my neck, resting her head on my shoulder. I placed my hands on her waist, and I continued to sing in her ear as we began to slow dance.

"_And you can tell everybody, this is your song. It may be quite simple but…now that it's done. I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words….oh, how wonderful life is, while you're in the world."_

She was crying much harder now, her tears dripping down onto my dreadlocks. I held her tight, letting her know that all I wanted was her safe and happy. That every word in the lyrics I was singing was true.

Her body wracked with soft sobs, and I kissed her ear as we continued to dance around the living room, the music filling our souls.

We danced together, our hearts becoming one, forgetting time and money and other trivial things. It was funny, how so many people got caught up in those things. Couldn't they see? All they needed was this. All they needed was someone who cared, who understood…who loved them.

"…_How wonderful life is…when you're in the world…" _The song finished, the piano playing its final tune.

Slowly, she raised her head, so that we were merely gazing at one another, our faces inches apart. We communicated through our eyes and our hearts, both whispering promises that, unlike most, we would keep. I stared into her sweet eyes, the indescribable sparkle of them. She breathed softly, as if she didn't understand much, but she knew somehow this was right. Slowly, gently, beautifully, like an angel from heaven, she leaned closer and pressed her lips against mine.

How truly wonderful life is.

**POV: Starlight**

I felt my lips parting, and his tongue tracing across them. I felt something strange and powerful surge through my soul. I felt everything.

The taste was both salty and sweet, as I tasted both him and my own tears. If anything could be perfect…I had thought that was impossible. But, I was wrong. Because this was perfect.

Slowly, we fell to the couch, our tongues touching, our lips caressing softly. He stroked my cheek, and I realized he had taken off his gloves. It surprised me, feeling his actually fingers. They were warm and gentle, and felt amazing as they moved from my cheek to my back.

The kiss became deeper, much more passionate. The simple feeling had become a hunger, a need. And I knew it was true. I needed Knuckles, more than I had ever needed anyone before.

His lips trailed down to my neck, and I tilted my head back, shudders of emotion running down my spine.

He moaned softly as his hand slipped down my neck, and further down, creeping towards my chest.

"Knuckles…" I warned.

"Sorry." He grinned the best one could grin while having their lips pressed against something.

I rolled my eyes, but moved his face so he was kissing my lips again.

But, of course, the moment had to end eventually. A few minutes later, when we were practically gasping for breath, the phone rang.

"Grr…" Knuckles growled. He was now on top of me, so he had to roll over to grab the phone from the end table. "What is it?" He snapped.

"_Oh, er, is this a bad time?" _Tails' voice.

Knuckles sighed. "It's ok. Go ahead, what is it?"

"_We found the remaining Chaos Emeralds. Now we have all seven!" Tails exclaimed._

Knux chuckled. "That's great, Tails. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to-"

I pressed a finger to his lips. "Knuckles…did he just say we have all of the Chaos Emeralds?" I asked, anxiously, my eyes wide with fear.

He nodded, looking confused.

_Oh, no…_ I thought.

Dark smirked. _Oh, yes._

Then the smoke alarm went off.

**POV: Dark**

As Star and the red thing ran to the kitchen, frantically putting out the omelet fire again, I was grinning. Finally. Jeez, it had taken long enough.

I could practically feel those Emeralds in my hands now, the power seeping through my veins. Seven of them. Ultimate, unstoppable power.

However, I knew I would need help retrieving the Emeralds. I knew Star wouldn't let me anywhere near them.

Star's little moment with Knuckles had been informative. It would help me with what I was about to do.

I gave a smug smile. It was time to begin my plan.

**A/N: Phew! That was a looong chapter. Hope it made up for my absence last week. **

**For those of you who didn't recognize the lyrics, the first song was "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. The second was "Your Song" by Elton John, the song that my parents actually did dance to at their wedding, so it's one of my favorites. :)**

**Anyway, please read and review, and thanks!**


	15. Trick

**A/N: Now for the next chapter! For those of you who had thought Dark was becoming soft…heh. She's not. Trust me, you're going to hate her guts after this chapter (or love them, depending upon whether you like her being evil or not). Muahaha.**

**POV: Starlight**

I did not sleep well that night. I was trying fervently to try and pierce through the wall Dark had put up, blocking her plans. But it was of no use. She had hidden them well.

Despite being snuggled warmly against Knuckles' chest, I was tossing and turning, hoping that soon it would be daylight, and that I would somehow be able to stop Dark from whatever it was she was planning on doing.

***

The next morning, I was with Knuckles at Tails' house, eating some pancakes, and watching the news. Well, I wasn't watching the news. I was tapping my fingers impatiently against the table, aggravated that Dark hadn't said a single word today. Not one.

I could feel her smirking in the corner of my mind, just oh-so-pleased that she could handle me this easily.

I sighed, and continued to think. There were three things I had managed to figure out. First, she wanted the Chaos Emeralds. Second, she wanted Shadow. Third, she wanted to escape from me.

But there were so many things I did not understand. How could she escape from me, and still be a part of me? Why did she want Shadow? Why had she been paying more interest to what my brother was doing lately? What had she done those days in the cave? Did she have some type of ability? Did I have some type of ability?

I let out an exasperated sigh, and slammed my face onto the table.

Tails and Knuckles had been standing a few feet away, their arms crossed, watching the news. They turned to me now, both raising a concerned eyebrow.

I stood up, and walked over to Tails. I needed to ask him-

I stopped. I saw the Chaos Emerald in his pocket a second after Dark did.

But it was already too late.

"Can I borrow this?" Slipped through my lips, and my finger raised to point at the Emerald.

"NO!" I shrieked, desperately trying to move my feet backwards, away from the Emerald, but it felt as though they were cemented to the ground.

"Please?" Dark pushed the words through my lips again, then held them closed.

Tails blinked, a little freaked by what I had just done. "Uh…Star?"

Dark twisted my face into an innocent look. "Really, I just need to get my jacket. I left it at home."

Damn. She knew me like the back of her hand. She even knew how to lie like me.

"Okay, Star. Just hurry back. I wanted to take a look a-" Tails began.

Dark caused my hand to grab the Emerald before he could finish, and then everything disappeared.

**POV: Dark**

I absorbed the power of the Emerald with ease, as soon as my feet touched the ground again. I slammed Star to the back of my head, causing her to fall unconscious.

I was standing inside of a bedroom, in front of a closed bathroom door. You could hear the sound of a shower running and someone whistling if you listened closely.

I waited patiently, careful to keep myself in Star's form and color, although I could easily have changed to my own form. I couldn't let anyone know I was here. Not yet.

A few minutes later, the shower stopped running, and I heard someone step out, still humming. Then the door opened.

The bat standing there screamed as I grabbed her by the neck, and pushed her against the wall. "Where's Shadow?!" I demanded from her.

Rouge gave me a startled look. "Star?! What…what the hell?!"

"You didn't answer my question." My fingers pressed harder around her neck. It was hard to keep my fur Star's color and focus on what I was doing at the same time, but I knew I would manage.

"W-what are you talking about?" She cried, and I only pressed harder. "I…I don't know…where he is!" She croaked, fear filling her eyes.

A smirk came upon my lips, and I knew my eyes had begun to glint red. "Don't lie to me, Rouge." I whispered.

Her eyes widened, as she realized this was no game. She was seconds from death. "He's in Blue Ridge Zone." She stated.

I released her, causing her to fall to her knees, gasping for breath. "What has gotten into you, Star?!" She exclaimed, panting.

I chuckled at her as I raised a sharp object above my head. "Something you won't remember when you wake up."

I hit it against her head, causing her to instantly fall limp. Then I disappeared again.

**POV: Sonic**

"…Blaze…"

"Just stop! Sonic, just stop." She sobbed.

I bit my lip. I was standing a few feet away from her, my hand outstretched. In it was a single orchid. I had thought she would love it. But she had pushed it away when I had tried to give it to her.

I couldn't ignore the fact that I was crushed. I was so sure…so sure that I would be making her happy. But…here she was, curled up on her bed, sobbing.

"Blaze, did I do something wrong?" I asked, unsure of myself. Damn! I was never unsure of myself. Then she had slipped her tongue into my mouth…and I had experienced a freedom unlike running at the speed of sound. Something new and amazing and real…

"No, no, Sonic, just…just go." She buried her face in her hands. "I'm disgusting…"

I was about to leave, sighing, but then I heard her last comment. I whirled around. "Disgusting? What are you talking about?!"

"Silver…he's been the best boyfriend a girl could ever ask for. Never suspicious, always faithful. So naïve…so naïve…" She shook her head, closing her eyes.

I sat next to her. "Is he what this is about?"

She suddenly looked up and slapped me hard across the face. "Of course he is what this is about! Sonic, I'm cheating on him! I'm a two-faced, slutty bitch…" She started crying again.

"You're not a slu-" I began. She slapped me again.

"Yes I am!" She exclaimed. "Star's never cheated on Knuckles, has she? Amy's never given up on you. Rouge hasn't even cheated on Shadow, and everyone knows what she's like! I'm a terrible…" She stopped, and looked me straight in the eyes. "Oh God, I love you." Blaze said, and threw her arms around my neck, pressing her lips against mine.

My eyes widened, as she forced us to fall over on the bed, our tongues working in rhythm. "Are…"I whispered, removing my lips for a second. "Are you having PMS or something?"

She slapped me again, but more gently, and I chuckled softly. Then she continued to kiss me.

**POV: Dark**

It was as though they wanted me to succeed.

I smirked, rolling my eyes, as I peered through the window. Sonic and Blaze were rolling on the bed together, hooked in a frantic embrace. Good. This was exactly what I needed. But, it wasn't needed now. Soon, though.

Right now, I needed Shadow. I raised the Emerald, and teleported again.

When I landed, my shoes hit icy ground. It was cold here. Very cold. But I would have to ignore that. I didn't have much time until Star would struggle back into consciousness.

I walked a ways, keeping an eye out for the ebony figure. He would be alone, I knew that much. Alone somewhere up high and away from civilization.

Finally, I found him. He was standing at the top of a snow-covered hill, gazing out at the world around him. A scarf was tied loosely around his neck, flowing as the chilly wind caught it.

_Time to start acting_. I thought, trying to keep the smile from crawling onto my face. Time to use everything I had learned from Star.

"Shadow?" The words came out of my mouth perfectly. I sounded just like Star: innocent and sad.

Slowly, he turned around. Of course he wasn't surprised to see me. Or, rather, me in Star's body. Shadow didn't get surprised. But he would, with what I was about to do. "Hello, Starlight." He said, his voice barely louder than the wind.

Now it was time to step things up. I walked over to him, moving my hips in a very seductive manner, and eventually allowing the grin to reach my face."I was wrong, Shadow. I don't belong with him…I belong with you."

I reached him, and gave him a full look-over, my eye-brows wiggling at him suggestively. He still didn't look startled, but I knew I had caught him hook, line, and sinker.

"…What are you doing, Star?" He asked, watching me watching him.

I moved closer, until our bodies were inches apart. I slowly trailed a finger along his chest. "You know, Shadow," I reached in and breathed in his ear. "You really should wear black more often. So sexy…"

I felt him tense slightly. I stifled my snicker.

I pressed my lips against his ear. Seducing was easy, because there wasn't any real love involved. Just a game.

"Star, are you drunk?" He asked.

Humph. He was clever. I would have to be more convincing.

I pulled back a bit, so that I was looking at him right in the eyes. It was funny, how similar our eye-color was. Red as spilt blood. I had to admit it was nice color. Fitting for him. I had to focus to keep mine Star's shade of green. "I'm not drunk, Shadow." I said seriously. Now to really act like Star. "I just finally know what I want. What I need. You, constantly by my side."

It made me sick, talking the way I was. But I knew it was the only way I could trick him.

"You're lying." Shadow replied, meeting my gaze steadily.

I had to bite my tongue from snapping back at him. I needed to keep cool. "I'm not." I allowed tears to fill my eyes. "Shadow, please! I…I need you. Knuckles doesn't understand me the way you do. You and I…we know pain. I understand what happened with Maria…"

Suddenly his expression changed completely. Doubt and sadness flickered across his face. He was starting to believe me.

"How…How do you know about Maria?" He asked.

_Oh, good ole' Rouge._ I thought. She really had come in handy these past few days. Of course, she never remembered any of it, and Star had thought they had all been dreams.

"It's not important. I don't know why I didn't see it before. I was heart-broken and confused. But I've thought about it a lot. And I realized you and I are meant for each other. When we kissed…I felt something I never felt when I was kissing Knuckles." I told him.

I had to keep myself from snorting. What a load of bull I was creating.

He said nothing. Now was my chance.

I slowly traced my hand across his face, gently caressing him. "It's okay, Shadow. You don't have to be alone anymore. You don't have to be guilty anymore." I touched my nose to his. He closed his eyes. Yes, I had him now.

He breathed softly and I slowly rubbed my hands down his back, and let my fingertips trace along his tail. He shivered, but not because of the cold.

I pressed my lips against his, and tried desperately to keep them there, despite my entire being screaming at me to stop. _Come on, Dark. Come on. You can do this. _I urged myself forward.

I pushed my tongue into his mouth, and slipped it across the inside of his cheek. He met my tongue with his own.

His hand slowly moved to my breast, cupping it, and he moaned. I tried not to retch.

I could tell he wanted so badly to believe me. It almost made me feel sorry for him.

Almost.

I slowly slipped my hand under his shirt, moving it up his soft, furry chest. I crept my fingers along like a spider, until I found his heart beat, and a smirk formed onto my lips, despite the fact that our tongues were still wrestling.

I slowly removed my tongue and lips, and stared him down. "You're an idiot, Shadow." I whispered, and my eyes turned red, my fur becoming dark, dark blue.

His eyes widened, which was a very rare look for Shadow.

Then I clutched the Chaos Emerald tightly, absorbing more power. Darkness flowed from my hand, positioned right above Shadow's heart. It started being absorbed by Shadow's skin. A short gasp escaped from his lips, as the darkness I had injected into him reached his heart. Then his eyes turned completely black.

He was under my control.

**POV: Silver**

I was lying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I had lost track of how long I'd been doing this. A long time, though.

I glanced over at the clock. Noon. I had woken up at 8:00. I sighed.

I saw the picture of Blaze and I on the nightstand. It was one of my favorites because I was laughing and she was pecking my cheek, with the gentle, kind way she used to kiss me. It used to give me chills every time.

She had made me feel so…alive. Like I wasn't just another hedgehog. Like I was special. When we had met in preschool, we had immediately befriended one another. She had liked my quirkiness, and I had liked her…well, I had liked everything about her. Her seriousness, her sarcasticness, her smile, her eyes, her laugh, her kiss…

But, lately, I'd felt so distant from her. She avoided me now. Her smiles seemed uneasy and forced. She hadn't kissed me since that day at the cave.

I ran my fingers through my quills. It was just my imagination. Of course it was. Blaze loved me, same as I loved her. It was just a phase. All couples went through this.

…Right?

I shook my head, and pulled the covers away from me. I walked to my bathroom, rubbing my eyes. I gazed at my reflection in the mirror. My quills were in great disarray, and deep circles had formed beneath my eyes.

I wanted to talk to someone. But who? Blaze…I couldn't. Sonic? No. Knuckles or Tails? Pssh. No. Star…maybe. She always seemed pretty understanding, right? Plus she was great friends with Blaze…

I started to change out of my boxers and into jeans and a t-shirt when I heard a door swing open. I froze, then quickly zipped up the jeans. I stepped out of my bathroom, looking around.

"…Hello? Is somebody there?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Silver…"

I whirled around, screaming. "Aaahhh!!!"

"Silver, it's me!!" Star was standing a few feet away from me, watching me with an amused look on her face.

"Oh…it's you…" I panted. "Heh. I was actually getting ready to call you. What's up?" I asked her.

Her eyes immediately saddened. "Oh, Silver. It's awful. I…I have to show you something." She sighed.

I raised an eyebrow. "Uh…What do you mean?"

She took my hand in hers. It was surprisingly cold, and she held mine a bit too tightly, like she was trying to squeeze it to death. But I let her pull me forward nonetheless.

My cell phone rang. "Just a sec." I said to her.

I pulled it out, and saw it was Knuckles. Strange…

I started to answer, but Starlight knocked it out of my hand. "It's nothing. Probably some lame sports guy thing or whatever. Come on, I have to show you something. Now." She started pulling me again, and I could have sworn I heard her mutter, "I'm running out of time."

"Is something the matter?" I asked.

"Yes. Oh, Silver, I'm so sorry this has to happen." Tears filled her eyes, but her teeth were clenched tightly together.

I blinked. "What-what are you talking about?!"

Star was now running rather quickly now, dragging me along with her. Soon, we stopped. I realized we were standing next to Blaze's house. "Why are we here, Star?" I asked, starting to feel worried.

"Look." She sniffled, and pointed to the window.

I walked over, unsure what to expect. Was Blaze hurt or sick or crying or dying or…or…worse? No, she couldn't be dead, she…

I gasped, when my eyes peered through the window. My entire body went rigid. My whole soul came crashing down. My blood froze. My heart stopped.

_No…_

That was all I could keep thinking. It couldn't be true. It wasn't true. It was some awful, awful nightmare that I needed to wake up from. Right now. Blaze loved me. Me! ME! Not Sonic…oh God, please not Sonic…

But there it was. Right before my eyes. The two figures. The cobalt hedgehog with the cocky grin and the beautiful purple feline whom I had thought loved me. Curled against one another, their lips working with a rhythm I had never seen Blaze have with me.

I crumpled to my knees in shock. My mouth was still agape, my eyes still wide. I felt the tears form. They were suddenly just cascading down my cheeks and I couldn't stop them now that they had gotten started. There was no escape now. It wasn't a nightmare. It was reality. Sickening, disgusting, lying, painful reality. The truth that had been right before my eyes for many days now. I just hadn't been able to see it. Because I hadn't wanted to.

Slowly, I turned back towards Star. "…Why?" Was all I could manage. I wanted to ask so many questions, but they all started with 'why'.

"Because she doesn't really love you." Star whispered, kneeling down beside me.

I just shook my head, tears dripping onto my knees.

"…But I do."

I looked up, and turned to her. She was looking at me with a strange twinkle in her eyes, like she was up to something. But her face seemed sincere. Very sincere.

She…she loved me?

**POV: Dark**

_Why?!! Why are you doing this, Dark?! You're hurting him! _Star sobbed. She had woken up, but was still too weak to press past the bit of Chaos Energy I still had.

I ignored her, and slowly leaned closer to Silver. "I can make all that pain go away…" I whispered. "Run away with me, Silver. I love you, unlike that selfish, lying, bitch of a cat."

"She's not a bitch…" Silver's body shook.

Star cried out, sobbing. _Can't you see the pain you're putting him through??!! Stop!! PLEASE!!_

I kissed his ear, cupping his face in my hands. "Escape, Silver. I know how."

"Show me. Show me, please." He pleaded.

_No!! _Star screamed.

I pushed him onto his back, and began seducing him, the same way I had Shadow. Damn, it was so easy. Men were such suckers for sex.

_You're disgusting. I hate you. I hate you so- _Star began.

_Oh, shut up. _I slammed her against the back of my head again. She didn't fall unconscious but it disoriented her for a second. Enough for me to get the job done.

I pressed my hand over his heart, licking his mouth. He was crying quite hard now, and it was hard not to laugh. He was so incredibly pathetic.

"No, no…Blaze…" He sobbed, as I held him down.

Slowly, the darkness flowed out, and sunk deep down into his skin. After a few seconds, he made the same little gasp, and his eyes turned pitch black.

I let out a cackle of triumph. Finally. FINALLY! I was ready.

Everything was ready.

_Now, don't remember any of this tomorrow._ I told Star, who was struggling against the wall between us, beating her hands against it. Then I flooded my mind with darkness, and she sank into a deep sleep.


	16. Dark

**POV: Starlight**

I awoke with a start, gasping for breath, looking all around me.

Something was wrong. I knew it. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. My head was spinning and everything was a blur. My heart was pounding and I was exhausted, despite the fact that I had apparently just been asleep.

I couldn't remember how I had gotten here, in my room. In fact, I couldn't remember anything at _all _about last night. I didn't remember getting into my pajamas, or crawling into bed. Or tying my quills back into a ponytail or taking a shower. And…Knuckles was gone, I realized. According to the un-creased pillow beside me, he hadn't been in bed all night.

But…I could never go to sleep without Knuckles beside me, without his arms around me. It just didn't happen. _Couldn't_ happen.

Something was definitely, definitely wrong.

What was the matter with me?! I was suddenly having amnesia! What if Dark had done something? Something…something awful? I had this twinge of feeling that she had.

_What did you do? _I asked her, worry clawing through my voice.

I received no reply.

I bit my lip hard, so hard that my teeth pierced the skin and my lip began to bleed. The taste of blood came into my mouth, along with a sense of horrible dread. Flashes of last night were beginning to appear. But just flashes. I couldn't make out what had happened, but it certainly wasn't good.

I pulled back the covers of my bed, and stepped onto the carpet, my mind working at a mile a minute. Knuckles was gone…no. She wouldn't _dare_ hurt him.

I threw on my robe and raced out the door and down the staircase, making a terrible racket that seemed out of place in my quiet home.

Quiet. I suddenly realized that it was completely deserted.

But…it was Sunday. Sonic was supposed to meet me here for breakfast.

And…Knuckles. He was _always_ here. There was no separating us. And he would have told me if he had gone somewhere!

_What did you do?! _I repeated, more urgently.

A muffled grunt was my only reply this time.

_I swear…_ I grumbled, and took off running.

**POV: Dark**

I gritted my teeth, trying to keep Star from breaking my concentration. This was a hell of a lot harder than I thought it would be. Trying to control two other people…while within a neurotic female's body…was NOT easy.

I was currently seeing through Silver's eyes. My movements were his. My thoughts were his. It was an extraordinary thing, controlling another.

I was making him walk down Central City. Several people cast him strange looks, what with the glazed look in his non-blinking eyes, but I ignored it. I didn't care if I got attention from _them_. It was attention from Star and company that I did _not_ want.

Tails' workshop wasn't far from here. I had Shadow stationed nearby, hiding in an alleyway. He was struggling to come out of my control, but my darkness was still firmly planted around his heart…and as long as it was there, I had him. It was like a leech…sucking away at his life…I grinned maliciously.

I made Silver take a turn to the left, walking across a busy traffic light. I was lucky I had found a hooded jacket in his closet. That at least hid his quills from view.

The best part about Silver: his insane power. Oh, it was like a drug…I drank it in like an intoxicated fool. As I caused Silver to come into an alleyway, I slowly raised my hands. Silver's did the same, and I felt his energy begin pulsating. Next thing I knew Silver was flying, far above the un-knowing pedestrians below us.

Now, _this_ was difficult. Star was running all over Angel Island now, and it was an insane cacophony in my head, the combination of her ragged breathing, the whoosh of air passing as Silver flew, and the honk of cars as Shadow waited in the alleyway. I took deep breaths and held on with all my strength. This was my one chance at getting the Chaos Emeralds.

Soon Silver landed feet away from Shadow. The landing was a bit clumsy, but it was the best I could do. Silver could get over his twisted ankle when he woke up…if he woke up. I snickered.

Star heard me, and began clawing at the wall between us with a force rather unlike her. Still, while she had been snogging Knuckles, I had learned to build up my strength. I was far stronger than her.

I decided to rest for a few minutes, as I would need a lot of energy if Star and the others showed up. I was watching the world pass by through Shadow's eyes now. Every once and a while, my thoughts would mingle with his, and I would have strange feelings. Some were feelings I was familiar with: anger and hate towards the world around me, the one that had allowed such awful things to happen. Others, I wasn't sure what they were. They mostly had to do with a young, blonde girl with stunning blue eyes…I immediately assumed it was the Maria Rouge had spoken of. I shook my head, sighing.

"I thought you were stronger than that, Shadow." I said to him, only the words came out through his mouth, so they were much deeper. "Anyway, it's time to go. Time to get our revenge."

I made Shadow stand up, and pull his own hood over his head. Tails' workshop was three blocks away, a very easy run.

I let part of me seep back into Silver, and as Shadow started running, Silver followed in the air.

Not long now…

**POV: Starlight**

I grabbed my cell phone, dialing Knuckles' number. I had to make sure…

"_Starlight? Where have you been?!" _He almost immediatly answered.

"Knuckles! Dear God, I thought she had done something…" I exhaled, slowing my pace, and trying to calm my racing heart.

"_Huh? What do you mean?"_

"Nothing, nothing." I said quickly. "Is something the matter?"

"_Yeah._" He replied, and I could hear the sound of a car screeching to a stop. "_Silver went missing yesterday evening. Blaze found a note in his bedroom telling us not to try and find him. She's been freaking out ever since. No one seems to know why she's so worried, but she's started this huge search party. Not to mention the fact that Amy found Rouge out cold in her own closet, and Shadow hasn't shown up for ages. So, yeah, you could say something is the matter."_

I blinked. "He…went missing? And Rouge…" I choked.

"_Star, is everything okay? I couldn't find you anywhere last night. Don't do that to me, okay? We already have enough to worry about…"_

"I'm fine, Knuckles. I…I don't know where I was last night. Don't worry about it. Where are you guys?" I asked him, looking both ways as I came into Central City. I was trying to keep myself calm. _I_ was the one in control here. Dark was inside of _me_, not me inside of _her_. She couldn't possibly have done anything.

But why the hell couldn't I remember anything?!

"_We're in Central City, near that one pizza place."_ Knuckles replied. _"Star, did you just say you don't know where you were last night?" _Worry edged his tone.

"Pizza place, got it. See ya in a minute." I immediately hung up.

I swerved to the right, and flew down a street, past cars that irritably honked as I cut in front of them. Dark was silent. So silent, in fact, that I could hardly feel her presence.

_Dark, what the hell did you do? WHY are Silver and Shadow missing, and WHY is Rouge unconscious? _I demanded.

_Idi…ot…figure…out…for…yourself… _She grunted through clenched teeth.

I hissed in frustration. She was doing something. I could feel it now.

A flash of black passed me, catching me off guard, and I fell to the ground. I gasped as a car swerved to avoid hitting me, and I ducked under one as it came right upon me. My eyes wide, I scrambled off the road, taking huge gulps of air.

That had been Shadow.

My eyes darted to the sky, and I saw a small ball of white mixed with a glowing turquoise, racing along after the flash of black.

Silver.

They were headed south. Why would they be going south? There was nothing of interest that way, not that I could think of, anyway-

I froze, suddenly realizing what was going on.

_The workshop…_

I charged after them, propelling myself at a speed twice what was safe in this area, and speed-dialed Knuckles.

"_It sure is taking you a whi-"_

"KNUCKLES!" I practically screamed into the phone, interrupting him. "You and the others GET TO TAILS' WORKSHOP! NOW!!"

I hung up, and ran.

**POV: Dark**

I had known she would catch on eventually.

But Shadow and Silver were nearly to Tails' workshop, and by then no one would be able to stop me.

Star was catching up, along with Sonic, who was now running with her. I pushed Shadow forward, knowing that Silver wouldn't be able to keep up.

But he would be able to do something else…

I narrowed my eyes, focusing. Along with my movements, Silver turned backwards, floating in the air. He raised his hands, the turquoise aura surrounding them, and several cars flew up. One by one, I made him shove them towards Sonic and Star.

I watched as Sonic pushed Star out of the way, and the two kept running again. I gritted my teeth. Damn, this was difficult. I was technically still in Star, despite the fact that I was _seeing _and _moving_ through Silver. But I could feel Star's legs moving beneath me, as she pushed them harder, and I could feel her eyebrows furrow, that stupid determination appearing on her face.

I couldn't do this much longer. Too many people, too many feelings, too many thoughts. I was getting disoriented and dizzy. I should have practiced more, but there was no way I could have. The only choice I had was to hurry.

I let Silver completely drop out of my control, and focused on Shadow. This was much easier.

Behind me, I knew Sonic was catching Silver, and making sure he was okay, all that crap that I had never experienced or had time for.

But Star was still chasing Shadow.

I snickered. So she _did_ have a daring side…heh.

She was gonna get killed for it.

I could see Tails' workshop now. I could almost _feel_ the immense power I would have…it sent chills down my spine. Seven…seven of those emeralds…enough energy to do _anything_…anything.

About five more skates, and Shadow was standing in front of the workshop. I raised his hand, summoned his energy, and the door was down before you could say 'Chaos Control'.

And there they were, shining with the only beauty that was visible in my eyes. The beauty of _power_.

They were nestled inside of Tails' airplane, where they were hooked up to various wires and such. I had no time for carefully removing them. Besides, it was time I had a bit of fun and caused some destruction.

I gave Shadow a shove and he walked forward, instantly ripping the emeralds out of the plane, which sparked and went dead. My heart beat faster and faster, my eyes wide, entranced. A grin crept onto my face. Star had arrived. She was standing in the doorway, a look of utter horror on her face.

"Absorb them." I commanded, my body shaking with anticipation.

Shadow was struggling with all his might, which was a hell a lot of might. But my darkness clenched his heart harder. He _would_ obey.

Star started running towards us, but I had given him another shove, and then…

The Chaos Energy flooded into my system.

I gasped. It felt like ice-cold water was being poured through my veins. Only, it was a _good _feeling. Energy electrified every nerve, deepening every sense. I instantly dropped my hold on Shadow, as Starlight began to scream in agony. I bathed in this amazing, intoxicating, dizzying, terrible feeling. I felt my quills sharpen and slowly rise. Star clutched her head, pushing me back with everything she had. Which felt like a feather brushing against my fur.

My quills then angled upwards, glinting like daggers. Dark purple highlights lined the edges, and my eyes began to glow my favorite blood red. My fur turned completely black.

I was Super now. And it was the most incredible thing I had ever felt…I wanted to feel this way forever. I didn't even know where to begin. But, of course, I had to escape from Star, first.

So then I ripped myself out of Star's head.

**POV: Starlight**

I would have taken _anything_ other than this. Anything.

My spine snapping like a tooth pick. That was nothing. Pain? Hell, that wasn't pain.

_This_ was pain.

What only made it worse was that I could actually _hear_ Dark ripping herself away from me; could actually _see_ her materialize in front of me, causing the others standing in the doorway to gape in horror. Why hadn't I told them?! Then they would at least know what was happening…

I was going to be sick. I could hardly see anything; it was all spinning around and around and around and I had to squeeze my eyes shut to keep myself from passing out…

I had to stop her. I couldn't let her escape! She would cause utter destruction, ruin everything I had managed to rebuild of my life…

Suddenly, the pain was all over. But this had only just begun.

It was a strange thing, actually seeing her. Sure, I'd always known what she looked like, but I had never actually been face to face with…well, the other side of myself.

She had this grin that made your blood turn to ice, and her red eyes illuminated her face. Her fur had turned black as charcoal, and her eyes and teeth were about the only really distinguishable things you could see. She was surrounded by a thick cloud of darkness that swirled and billowed around her.

"Oh, how long I've waited for this moment…" She said, her voice menacing and sadistic. It was honestly the most terrifying thing I'd ever heard.

A ripple seemed to pass over her body, like she was shuddering, and she clenched her fists. She closed her eyes and started shaking out of control. My eyes widened, as I realized what was happening. Suddenly, she stopped, and there was no time for any of us to prepare ourselves. A shockwave slammed through the room, hitting all of us with an incredible force. The wind was knocked out of my lungs as I slammed into a wall.

Everything was blurry when I opened my eyes. I felt around and tried to rise to my feet, looking around. All I could make out were the shouts of my friends and little blobs of red and blue color, moving around. Before I could register that they were Knuckles and Sonic, a black blob filled my vision and pain shot through my jaw as I felt Dark's gloved fist make contact with it. Her knee jabbed into my stomach, and I gasped, my eyes wide, as I keeled over in pain.

"Come on, Star! Be a hero! Save yourself! That's what you've always done, isn't it?" She cackled manically as she hit me with punch after punch. I began backing up as she hit me over and over, trying to defend myself with my hands. I could hardly fight back, her fists flew so quickly, each charged with a darkness that filled my head with nightmarish visions. I knew that my arm was broken, and there were quite a few gashes across my body. I was slowly getting weaker.

"STARLIGHT!" I heard Knuckles roar, as he charged forward and tried to hit Dark with a forceful punch. She dodged it, grabbing his wrist as he tried to punch again. She brought him close to her face, snarling and showing her teeth, then flipped him over, causing him to crash into a bunch of Tails' machines.

Heat flooded the room and I realized flames had sprung up everywhere. Blaze was standing in the middle of the room, watching Dark with burning eyes, fire pouring out from her hands and rushing towards Dark at a break-neck speed.

"You mess with Star, you mess with all of us!" Blaze shouted, ever the brave one.

A grin appeared on Dark's face and she was suddenly encased in a ball of darkness, which blocked the flames from reaching her. Blaze hissed and pressed harder, but it was of no use. Nothing could penetrate the circle.

It was utter chaos. The windows shattered as Dark Chaos Spears flew in all directions, coming from the shield around Dark. Shadow and Silver had joined in the fight as well, but neither of them made the slightest bit of difference. I watched the whole thing, pressed against the side of a wall, my eyes wide, blood trickling down from my wounds. Even Amy, dear, dear Amy was pounding her hammer against Dark's shield, which only caused her to be hit by a great amount of recoil, and she was quickly exhausted.

"Tails, get Am-" Rouge began, but was knocked aside by a large crate flying through the air.

The shield around Dark disappeared, and she sent yet another shockwave towards Silver and Sonic. Silver attempted to stop it with his telekinesis, but its strength was far too large for him to handle. He and Sonic toppled backwards, right into Tails' work desk, snapping it and sending papers flying in all directions.

I had to do something. Something. Anything. But what? I knew just as well as Dark did that I had no chance against her.

Knuckles ran next to me, grunting as he shoved a metal crate in front of us, so as to block us from the heavy amount of debris flying everywhere. "Star, who the hell _is_ this person?" He asked me, shielding his face as another wave of smoke flew towards us.

I took shallow breaths, my heart pounding. I didn't know what to tell him. But it was about time he learned the truth.

"…She's me, Knuckles. She's me." I whispered, wrapping my arms around my knees.

He turned his face to look down at me, puzzled.

I didn't meet his gaze.

He wrapped his arm around me, bringing me close to him. "What are you talking about? If there's something you know, you need to tell us. We need to know how to defeat her."

I shook my head, my eyes staring out into space. "There _is_ no way to defeat her. You attack her and you're dead. You run and you're dead. You hide and you're dead. You let her get her darkness around your heart and you're worse than dead. There's no way to win…"

Knuckles bit his lip, watching the scene again. "Star, there has to be some way…I…how did she…become, er, you?" He struggled with his words.

I closed my eyes. "The day my parents died." My voice was barely audible in the noise surrounding us.

Knuckles pulled back, shocked. "They're…they're dead? But…but you said…"

"I've lied all along, Knuckles. I lied to Sonic, I lied to you, I lied to everyone I've ever met in this damn town that I love so much…But most of all, I've lied to myself. I should have known that this would happen. I should have stayed away…" I trailed off, keeping the tears from falling down my face.

Knuckles was silent for a few minutes and I was afraid I had hurt him. Of course I had. I had lied bitterly to him and now I would have to pay for it.

"No. No, I wouldn't want that."

I glanced up, realizing he had finally spoken. "Wha-?" I asked, unsure what he was talking about.

"I wouldn't want for you to have stayed away. Sure, all this mess is happening, but…I was stuck on that island all my life. In fact, I only left it when the world was in danger. Now…" His eyes turned back towards mine. "Nah, I wouldn't have it any other way."

I blinked, unable to comprehend his crazy words.

"Come on, coward! Weakling! I bet you can't catch me!"

I was distracted by the sound of Sonic shouting. He had risen back to his feet, cuts and scrapes covering him. But, of course, he was grinning, zipping back and forth as Dark gritted her teeth and rapidly shot orbs of darkness at him, becoming angrier and angrier with each one.

He didn't know her. He didn't know what she could do. How far she would go.

She would kill him.

"Sonic, don't-" I began, but he had already jumped up, that foolish, cocky grin on his face, and pulled himself into a spin dash. He charged towards Dark, and I saw her smirk.

She stopped him mid-air, a beam of darkness having shot out of her hand and closed around him. He came out of his spin dash, looking startled. Fear closed around my throat as darkness closed around his.

"_This_ is your hero, Star? The brother you so cherish?" Dark shook her head, snickering slightly, then it grew and grew, turning to a cackle. She tightened the darkness around Sonic's neck, and he squirmed, gasping. "You humor me! This is pathetic!"

Knuckles tried to grab my arm and stop me as I rose, but I shrugged him off.

Sonic stared back at her with defiant eyes, as she squeezed even harder. He would never go out without a fight.

And neither would I.

I raced towards her, bellowing with some kind of recklessness that had been lost long ago…

I hit her with everything I had, spin dashing straight into her thick cloud of darkness. It stung my eyes and the scent was acrid and disgusting, not to mention the pain in my arm was immense, but I ignored all of it, making contact with her torso. She hissed and fell to the side, dropping her hold on Sonic. I came out of my spinning ball and kicked her square in the jaw, snapping her backwards. She jumped back to her feet, her eyes flashing to me, blazing with hatred. I knew mine were doing the same thing.

We stood there, not moving, just watching one another. Looking into that mirror that neither of us wanted to admit was there.

"…It's about time I got rid of you. I've had to deal with your idiocy all my life, and I'm tired of acting reasonable. I have everything I need now, so I think it's just that I use it." Dark told me. Her lips were smirking, her fists clenched. It felt like we were the only ones in the room, despite the chaos and noise around us. Tails was rushing to get an injured Amy out of the room, having Rouge help him, Blaze was helping Sonic to his feet, and Shadow and Silver were watching the whole thing.

Slowly, Dark raised her hands towards me and an orb started charging in the palms. Only, this orb looked different. It flashed every few seconds, as though lightning had been captured in the center, unable to escape. I already knew what she planned on doing.

She was going to kill me.

"Your perfect little world is falling apart, Star. You better run." Dark grinned.

I closed my eyes, waiting to take on the impact. I was ready. I would see them soon…Mom and Dad. Maybe then I would be able to tell them…how sorry I was. Sorry not only for what I had said…but how I had failed them. I had unleashed a creature of sadism and destruction…and she would never stop.

I opened my eyes, as the orbs completed their charging. They were as big as basketballs now, and had a terrifying unknown about them as they swirled and flashed.

I wanted to run. Of course I wanted to run. But I wasn't going to. Not today.

The orbs created one last flash, and Dark took aim at me. I didn't move a muscle.

And, suddenly…everything changed.

Dark's hands moved just as the orbs began to leave her palms, and I was shocked to find them heading towards a completely different person.

_No…_

The orbs screeched through the air, their sound a horrifying, blood-curdling scream, towards a wide-eyed Knuckles.

The scream was stuck in my throat, my entire body rigid, my knees buckling. I had no words…I couldn't…She couldn't…

I watched it all, like some sick nightmare turned reality. It was like everything was in slow motion, and yet, there was no way to reach him in time. I watched, falling to the ground, my legs no longer able to hold up my body, as she broke me. Beat me. Hurt me with the only thing she knew would really get to me.

The orb pierced straight through his chest, covering the white-crescent mark that I had traced with my fingertips so many times before. He cried out in agony, falling to the ground, as the darkness consumed him. It trailed down his legs and up towards his face, swallowing him.

His eyes flashed to mine, and I saw everything. Felt everything. I felt his love and his pain and joy and sadness and forgiveness. I felt everything we had been through together. I felt his lips pressed against mine, and all the times he had told me that it would be okay. That he would always be there.

He had lied.

In those few seconds where our eyes met I knew that there was never going to be any peace. That I would never find anyone like him again. That I should never have lied to him, that I should never have loved him. But I knew that I did love him, with all my heart, merely because he was him. I had known him for such a small amount of time…but so much had happened.

His eyes were full of desperation and despair, like all they wanted was to be with me, someplace far away…back at his house, or maybe back in the cave…or maybe someplace completely different. Maybe he wanted us sitting on a beach, watching the sunset, and talking of trivial things that always seemed to be the most interesting to hear. Maybe he wanted us completely silent, my head on his shoulder, his un-gloved hand on my knee, soaking in light and forgiveness. Maybe. I would never know.

Then his eyes closed, and my heart was breaking again, the light gone from my world. His eyes closed, and my eyes were filling with tears again, my breathing ragged.

No one ever told you how hard it was. How hard it was to lose someone you loved. It was something no one wanted to talk about, something that no one was strong enough to admit. People would say that it took time, but that you would be fine in the end. No one told you how long that time would be, and how painful that time would be.

No one ever told you how much it hurt. How it felt like your heart was being ripped in fifty different pieces at an excruciatingly slow pace. How your chest squeezed up and your throat choked and you started crying and you couldn't stop until hours later.

And no one ever told you how there was no way to change it.

I forgot everyone else in the room, their eyes wide, shocked, frozen just as I was. I ignored Sonic calling out Knuckles' name, and Rouge's scream. I ignored the way Shadow's eyes rested on my face.

I crawled over to his body, taking his hand. It was still warm. My tears slipped down onto his glove. It felt so surreal…

I was without words, or sound, or anything of the like. I was a painting on the wall, a black and white one. Once vivid with color and now just something that looked out of place amidst the glow of the room. There was a story behind me that would never be told, because I didn't have the color to express it.

I stared at his hand, shivering. It was the Metarex all over again, and I was so tired of it. As Dark's heavy black boots came into my vision, she began to speak.

"And this is why I never found love, or even sought it, for that matter. Look at yourself, Starlight. Look at what you've become. A broken porcelain doll; a thing of beauty if she had been smart enough to know how fragile she was." Dark clucked her tongue, as though she was scolding me. "How 'bout this? I'll put you out of your misery for ya. Surely that's what you want right now. Anything could be better than this, right?"

My hands shook with anger, but my soul was too weak to use it. The tears that had been unable to escape before blurred my vision and started pouring down my face. My body wracked with sobs. It wasn't fair. But nothing had ever been fair.

"See ya, Star."

Then Dark slammed the heel of her boot against my forehead, and my head cracked against the wall, sending a sharp pain searing through it.

Then all went black.

And, for once, I was thankful for it.

**A/N: Well, there's a reason why I didn't take the 'tragedy' genre away. **

**Now, I'm sure there are those of you who will not particularly love this chapter, and there are those of you that will. I'm also sure that you're wondering why I killed off a main character, and that will be revealed eventually.**

**But! This story is not over. Don't give up on me yet. ;)**

**I'm sorry this took so long getting out, but it was EXTREMELY hard to write. I mean, you have no idea how much I stressed over this. I hope it turned out okay. If I find people really can't stand it, I'll revise.**

**Sorry if I made you sad. I'll try and update soon.**

**Don't flame me! Please! I'm sorry! Trust me, it was a necessary thing! XD**


	17. Kael

**POV: Starlight**

I kept my eyes closed.

I didn't care where I was, or if I had even gone anywhere. I didn't even have the slightest bit of curiosity as to what happened when one died. All I knew was that I wasn't with them. With Sonic…Blaze…Amy…Shadow…all of them. I wasn't there to make up for my mistakes; to help them fight for their lives.

Just like I hadn't been there to save my parents, and I hadn't been there to save Knuckles.

I gritted my teeth, as a wave of pain flew through me. One would have probably guessed it was because of my arm, which was badly broken, twisted at a rather disgusting angle. But no, I was in pain because I was tearing myself apart, blaming myself for everything. Which was, of course, ridiculous. What difference did being angry at myself make? None. None whatsoever. I had all eternity to blame myself, but…

Whatever I did, there was no way to change what had happened.

I sighed, allowing my eyes to finally open. I had to admit I wasn't exactly surprised by what was around me.

I was surrounded in a shapeless mist, swirling in all directions, and was lying on a soft, cushioned floor, that felt rather like a moist pillow. It wasn't really comfortable, but wasn't uncomfortable either. It was all very dream-like.

A cold wind blew through the area, and I shivered, realizing my clothes were completely trashed, ripped beyond repair. Therefore, they were offering me very little warmth.

I muttered a few obscenities to myself, too tired to say much of anything else. Not that there was anyone else to talk to. I was completely alone, curled into a ball with my face huddled against my knees. Pathetic.

"…Er…are you Star?"

I jerked upright, my eyes opening fully, sure that I had just heard something. But, wha-

"Over here." A slight giggle followed the voice.

I whirled around, raising my hands, making a great show of preparing myself to defend. Not that I was _in_ any state to defend, what with my ripped clothes and broken-armed glory, but...

I froze, once I finally found the source of the voice. I had expected some sort of…creature of hell, I suppose. Instead it was a…

A boy?

A young boy, to be exact. He looked about seven or eight, with deep green eyes and red…

Dreadlocks.

My jaw dropped, as I took in what looked so incredibly much like Knuckles, it was unbelievable. I mean, everything about him made my heart start beating a billion times faster. The same red fur, lightning-bolt tail, long nose…

There were only two differences. First, he had bright green eyes, opposite of Knuckles' deep blue ones. Second, the birthmark on his chest looked more like a full moon, than the crescent Knuckles had had.

Still…the resemblance was amazing.

He had a rather confused, lost sort of look on his face, as if he didn't quite know where he was. He gazed at me, his hands in the pockets of his jeans, still anticipating my reply.

"…I…" I blinked. "…Um, yes, I'm Star."

A small smile crept onto the echidna boy's face. "Heh. I thought you might be." His voice was very soft and high-pitched, a cute child-like sound.

"Oh." I said, watching him cautiously. "I…um…do I know you?"

He chewed on the inside of his cheek, thinking. "Yes. Well…no. Not really. Or, at least, not yet. But…my name's Kael." He told me, the wind sweeping back his dreadlocks.

I was surprised when one of my ears perked up. Kael…why did that sound like something I should recognize?

His eyes passed all over me, taking in every aspect, utterly entranced. "…You look so different." He whispered.

My brows knitted together in confusion. "Uh…what do you mean?" I asked, trying to figure out who this person was and how he had gotten here. And why he looked so much like my…deceased…boyfriend.

Kael frowned, walking over to me. "Um…nothing." He then stopped and shook his head, as though he was clearing it. "You haven't seen a big jewel around here, have you? I think I'm supposed to take you to it." He said, glancing around. "That's what Leader said."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're…supposed to take me to a…big jewel?" None of this was making any sense.

He nodded. "That's what Leader told me to do. She would have come with me, but Tara couldn't-" He suddenly stopped himself, his eyes growing wide. "I'm…uh…er…I mean…I don't think I'm supposed to tell you. I just have to show you the big jewel." He nodded again, as though I was supposed to understand him with ease.

"Er…Kael…" I began. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any idea what you're talking about. What big jewel? And who's Leader, or Tara?" I asked.

He bit his lip, his sparkling green eyes finding the ground. "…I can't tell you." He immediately looked back at me, his face pleading. "I would, I really would! I promise, I just wanna help you, but…will you trust me? M…Miss Starlight?"

I searched his face, wondering if I should trust this young boy. Honestly, I just wanted to be left alone.

But I already knew my mind had been made up. How could I _not_ trust him? He was the closest thing I had to Knuckles now. Everything else had been thrown away, or left behind.

Slowly, I nodded. A smile lit up his face, and he took my hand, filling me with an unexplainable warmth, despite the cold wind and the tears that still glistened on my cheeks.

"So…does that hurt?" He asked, pointing at my arm as we walked together. Of course, I wasn't really sure _where_ we were walking. Or if we were even walking at all. Everywhere we went looked exactly the same. Covered in mist and clouds.

I frowned, realizing that the throb in my arm had stopped. "Er…no, I guess it doesn't."

He twisted his lips together, then asked, "Is she scary?"

I blinked at him. "Who?"

"Dark." He replied, his big eyes reflecting a surprisingly large amount of pain.

I cringed, once hearing her name. I hated her…she had taken everything from me.

When I didn't reply, Kael's gaze turned back ahead. "She's a bad girl, isn't she?" He said, quietly.

I closed my eyes. "Yes. Yes, she's a very bad girl." I whispered.

Kael nodded, a sad look crossing over his face. "…Leader didn't mean to, you know. It was an accident." He told me.

I opened my eyes. "What was an accident?"

But he just shook his head. "She's really sorry about it, too. She hides it, but I know she is. She tears herself up every night. I even caught her crying once." His brows furrowed, and I could tell he held a lot of respect and concern for this 'Leader' person. "The funny thing is…well, Leader doesn't cry."

I decided there wasn't much point in me asking questions I knew he wasn't going to answer, so I just nodded, my head occupied. Who Kael was, why he was here, the big jewel he was talking about, and what it all could possibly mean.

"…She wants you to come back. That's why I'm here." He suddenly said, as though he could read my thoughts.

I frowned. "Kael, I don't know who 'she' is. And, what do you mean 'she wants you to come back'?" I asked him, wishing he could stop talking in riddles.

He raised his hand, pointing downwards. When I made no sign of understanding, he sighed. "She wants you back down there. On Earth. With Sonic and the others." He said.

I froze. Sonic and the others…how did he know them?

"I don't understand. I'm dead, Kael. Dark completely shattered my skull. I kinda figured this was…well, the afterlife of some sort." I told him, glancing around and realizing this misty world wasn't exactly what I had expected.

To my surprise, Kael laughed. "You're not dead, silly! If you were dead, there would be no way I could be here!" He continued to laugh, until I became slightly agitated.

"What do you _mean_ I'm not dead?" I asked. This was just getting ridiculously confusing.

He shook his head, smiling. "Nope. You just aren't. Your purpose isn't anywhere near complete. Leader and the others crafted you well. If I complete my duty, if I find the big jewel, then you can do what they wanted you to."

He turned away, starting to walk again, but I reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him back to me with perhaps too much force. "They…_crafted me_? They wanted me to do something? What do _you mean_? Am I some kind of _experiment_, or something?!" My eyes had grown wide and wild, my voice angry, so unsure what to make of all of this. I mean, there was the possibility that it was all just some crazy dream of the afterlife…

…Or it could all be true. It could all be _real_.

When he saw the crazed look in my eyes, Kael immediately raised his hands, trying to calm me. "M-Miss Starlight, no! Well, er, I…look, I don't know! They didn't tell me much, and it scared me! So…I just did what they told me to do. I came here…to find you."

"But _why_?" I asked. "All this time, people have been _watching _me? Trying to _find_ me?"

I watched as tears began to form in his giant eyes, his lower lip starting to poke out a bit. I sighed, shaking my head. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired of never understanding." I wiped my hand across my face, regaining my composure. "What exactly does the big jewel look like?" I asked, looking down at him.

He quickly wiped away his tears. "Well, it's big and green and glowy. It's really pretty, and Tara says it's the color of my eyes." He giggled. "I like Tara."

I decided against asking who the hell Tara was. Instead, I focused on his description of the big jewel.

"Is it an emerald, perhaps?" I asked, relating green and glowy to that of…no. No, I refused to think of that.

His face lit up. "Oh, yes! _That's_ what it is! Of course...I would always see-" He stopped abruptly, quickly rephrasing his sentence. "I mean, yeah. It's an emerald."

I watched him, as a smile formed on his face, a smile that was far too crooked to go unnoticed by me. I wondered if I should ask him something. Finally, I decided I may as well try. "…You don't know someone named…" I swallowed. "…Knuckles, do you?" I ignored the image that flashed before my eyes, the one of Knuckles being consumed by that…darkness… "You look just like him."

But Kael had frozen; the moment I had said 'Knuckles' his entire body had gone rigid.

He coughed, as I gave him an odd look. "Yes, er…I know Knuckles. I…well…we've met. Once or twice…" His eyes found the floor as his hands fidgeted and his thumbs twiddled.

"Oh…" I said, still watching him curiously.

Kael shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Anyway, do you see it anywhere?" He asked me, lifting his eyes and peering around him.

"I don't see anything but mist." I replied, looking around as well. We had been walking for a while now, and I hadn't found anything that looked in the slightest bit different.

He crossed his arms, smiling at me. "You're just not looking hard enough." He said.

"No, really. There's nothing here."

He shrugged. "Well, you could always try running." His eyes found mine, giving me a very knowing look, which was strange, considering we had only just met.

I raised an eyebrow. "Running?"

"Isn't that what Sonic always used to say? 'When in doubt, just run'?"

I blinked. "Wait, you know Son-" I began, but Kael had already took off running, sprinting out into the mist, his sing-song laugh echoing around the area.

And when he suddenly disappeared from view, I panicked.

"Kael! KAEL! Wait…wait for me!" I cried, racing forward.

He laughed again, only the sound seemed to come from all directions. "Come on, silly! I bet you can't catch me!"

I panted, screeching to a stop and whirling around, trying to find him. "No, really, Kael, I can't find you!" I shouted.

"I'm over here!"

'_Over here, over here, over here, over here'_ echoed all around me.

Biting my lip, I hurriedly picked one spot in the mist and raced towards it, finding myself to be running…well, nowhere. Everything looked exactly the same.

_Just run, just run, just run…_ I told myself, rushing forward, wind whipping across my fur.

And then, suddenly, I spotted what appeared like a break in the mist. I squinted my eyes, trying to get a better look at what it was. It looked like…

I yelped, when the entire scene around me changed. Just like that.

I fell head first, tumbling over and over, my legs banging against the ground painfully. I pulled myself into a ball, trying to spindash, but that only made me go faster and I soon lost all sense of which way was up and which was down. That is…

Until I slammed into a giant tree.

"Ahahahaha!! I remember when Saphira did that!" I could hear Kael laughing from…my left, I think.

I groaned, rubbing my head, my movements a little woozy. "Urgh…Kael? Is that you?" I asked, blinking as I tried to regain proper sight.

I gasped for breath, overwhelmed by the sudden scenery. I was in the middle of what looked like…

A jungle?

What the _hell_??

"Hehe. I like this place."

I jerked my head to the side, finding Kael standing there, grinning from ear to ear.

That little…

"You had me scared to death! Don't ever run off like that again!" I shouted at him, surprised when it actually caused him to smile.

"You always say that." He told me.

I shook my head, not even bothering to question what he meant by that. "Really. Don't. You're the only one who has any idea what's going on around here. I still haven't figured out where I even _am_."

He rolled his eyes. "You're in a dream, of course. Doesn't this place look like something you recognize?"

"I…what? But, Kael, I-"

He shook his head. "No buts, young lady!" He pretended to scold me. "Now take a look around."

I sighed, but obeyed, though I was quite certain I had never been here.

Yes, it was most certainly a jungle. Curling vines and giant trees and foliage everywhere you looked. Sticky and wet, but somehow cool and breezy.

I jumped, once realizing Kael had taken my hand again. His stunning green eyes met mine and he shook his head. "Don't look at the plant stuff. Look _harder_." He told me.

My brows merged and I frowned, watching his encouraging face. "I don't know what you mean. I'm looking." I replied.

"Star, stop trying to forget. _Remember._"

I blinked. "Remember wha-" but he had already grabbed my chin and pulled my face to the side, so that my eyes finally laid upon what he had been trying to show me this entire time.

It was sitting at the top of a cascading waterfall, away from its usual place in the ruins. The sunlight hit it directly, making it cast out brilliant shades of green into the sky.

It was the Master Emerald.

We were on Angel Island.

Tears immediately stung my eyes, as my lips parted and my heart lurched. I turned away, pressing my face into my hands. "Who are you, Kael?" I asked, my voice cracking. "Some creature coming to haunt and torture me? Is that what you are?" I pressed my lips together, my breathing ragged. "Because I don't want to see this. I don't want to even think about it. I just wanna leave it all behind."

He swallowed. "No, I don't want to haunt you. I want to help you."

I closed my eyes, shaking my head. "Kael, why is the Master Emerald here? Why is it up on that hill? Why are you showing it to me?"

"Because you have to go back." He told me, his voice suddenly rising and taking on a determined tone. "You have to go back and show that big meanie Dark that she's not the boss of you!"

I slowly opened my eyes, turning to look at him, my whole body shaking. "How?! Kael, it's _impossible_! I _FAILED _them! Every single one of them! And you know what, it's all my _damn_ fault! ALL of it!!!" I was practically screaming now, so many emotions finally coming out, finally escaping. "I was too _weak_! I was scared of what would happen if I did something, if I actually tried to get rid of her! And NOW look what has happened! KNUCKLES is _DEAD_, Kael!!! He's _DEAD!!" _

"But you can go back and fix it!!" Kael cried. "I promise you that. And I know you're confused, and I know that he's dead, but none of it is your fault! And you _can_ go back. You can make up for what happened. You can still save Sonic and the others."

His eyes were burning now, raging with some sort of perseverance, some sort of never-ending youth and determination that was almost hard to look at. He raised his hands, shouting, "Master Emerald, I need you to help me!"

"Kael, what are you doing?" I whispered, tears still falling down onto my palms as I watched his hands suddenly begin to glow a bright, beautiful green.

"Knuckles isn't the only echidna, you know!" Kael shouted, sweat dripping down his forehead. "There's me too! And there's no way I'm letting you be sad! So I'm letting you go back, exactly the way Leader told me to!" He exclaimed, his body shaking and tensing as the glow around his hands grew greater and greater.

And then he grabbed my hand.

My eyes widened, as a shock hit me like nothing I had ever felt before. Energy poured through my system, electrifying every nerve in the softest way possible, as my fur started turning an absolutely brilliant white. I felt my quills lift and twist towards the sky, as something warm and succulent, like the sweetest honey, moved across my broken arm, then over my jaw, where crusted blood had formed from Dark's many punches. It flew down my legs, sending shivers down my spine as bruises and scratches slowly disappeared, melding back into regular, soft, white fur and skin.

I blinked, amazed, as an orb of…something…formed in my hand. I didn't know how to explain it. It was dazzlingly bright, almost hard to look at it. Like I was literally holding _light_ in the palm of my hand. It made me feel so…I struggled for the words. It was an emotion I hadn't felt in so long…

…Certain.

It made me feel certain. Determined. Ready.

Alive.

"Good look, Star!" I heard Kael cry out, and I realized I had started floating. He was below me, his hands still glowing, his expression so similar to that of Knuckles' that it broke my heart all over again.

His figure was starting to fade slightly, and I realized he was starting to disappear.

"Kael, wait! Wha-what's going on?!" I shouted, trying to get him to answer all of my questions.

"You already know!" He laughed. "Just go kick stupid Dark's butt!"

And then there was an incandescent flash of white, and everything was gone.

****

**Miles Away…**

**??? POV:**

Oh…oh my God.

He had done it.

He had really done it.

"LEADER!" I tripped over my chair, jumping out of it and running through the hallway. "LEADER, COME HERE! KAEL DID IT! THAT BRILLAINT BOY DID IT!" I shouted, drawing the attention of the other workers around me.

Leader came rushing down the hallway, her lilac eyes wide with shock.

"Starlight's heart beat- Leader, she's not dead! She's alive!" I exclaimed.

"That son of a bitch…" Leader whispered. "I didn't know he had it in him." She rushed over to the computer screen, typing fervently, getting a lock on Star's exact heart beat, blood pressure, stamina, everything. She was slowly increasing to a healthier state.

"But, Leader, that's impossible!" Cried a black cat who was standing behind us, his glasses slipping down the edge of his nose, his lab coat brought tight around him.

"No, Reeves, we designed her well…" I replied, my eyes scanning the screen, watching as Star's body slowly began to glow an incandescent white.

"Yes, we did." Leader replied, as she continued to type. "But that doesn't mean she doesn't have a challenge ahead of her. Her newly discovered power will certainly help, but I fear she has no idea how to control it. If only she hadn't have lost her memory, we might have some way-" She shook her head. "No. No, we need to focus on the task at hand. Tara, go get Kael."

"Yes, ma'am." I replied, swiftly turning around and racing towards the portal.

"…Let's just hope she's ready." Leader whispered.

**A/C: So I finally, FINALLY update. I am SO sorry. Really. It's just that this is a crucial chapter, especially since it introduces some of the new conflicts/characters for the sequel, ****Light****. But I won't give anymore away.**

**So…who **_**is**_** Kael? Could there possibly be another echidna? And who in the world is 'Leader', and why does Kael call her that? What about Tara?**

**And **_**what**_** exactly happened to Star?**

**All of that and more shall be revealed…all in due time, my friends. All in due time…**

**(XD)**


	18. The End of the Beginning, Part 1

Author's Note: Aheh. Cheesy chapter title, huh? As for quick updating--*shot*

_

* * *

_

**POV: Starlight**

It took me a while to realize what was happening. It was completely black around me, but there was a dull glow behind my eyelids. And I could hear things. They were soft, and not very easily audible, but they were there nonetheless. They sounded like muffled shouts and shrieks, as if someone was yelling into a pillow. I couldn't make words from them, at least not ones that made sense. Just fragments, such, as "Look-glow-help-she-dead-what?"

Slowly, the words grew louder, and something appeared that sounded slightly like the purring of a kitten. I noticed that I was getting considerably warmer, and that something cold and hard was pressed up against my left cheek. Then I realized that I was lying down.

I could make out separate voices now, and sentences were starting to come together. The purring turned to a growling, and quickly into a roar.

My eyes sprang open.

The world was on fire. Everything around me burned and smoked, giving off a terrible heat that caused sweat to immediately begin dripping down my brow. I could see feet too, some of them frozen in their tracks, others running to find an exit. I squinted, slowly raising my head from its place against the concrete ground. A wave of dizziness flew through my head, but it cleared surprisingly quickly, as did my eyesight. I could see what was happening now.

I was still in Tails' workshop, the windows broken and his machines burning, papers and crates smoking in the corners. But that wasn't what I saw first.

I saw Sonic kneeling beside me, one of his hands on my knee. His eyes were wide, and he almost looked a bit frightened. I opened my mouth to ask him what was the matter, what was happening…when I saw my reflection out of the corner of my eye.

And that's when I realized what Kael had meant.

I turned, gazing into the half-shattered mirror that lined part of Tails' workshop. I was Super. It was something I had never seen myself become before, something I had never even known I was capable of becoming. My fur had turned a pure and glowing white, my eyes a sharp yellow, my quills raised and lifted towards the sky so that they looked almost like icicles. But that was hardly what was capturing my attention.

My wounds were completely healed, my arm snapped back into place, and two basketball-sized balls of light were charging themselves in the palms of my hands. Light…

Dark.

That was what I was supposed to do. That's why Kael had given me the energy I needed to heal, to "come back from the dead". I was supposed to stop what I had created, and put an end to all of this. I was supposed to destroy Dark.

I grabbed Sonic's hand, causing him to jerk upwards, startled. "Sonic, listen! Where's Dark?!" I asked him, my voice coming out slightly delayed and loud, as if I was speaking through some sort of microphone.

"…She's-she's heading towards Station Square!"

I raised my head, to find Blaze dragging herself out from under a pile of broken machinery. She was bleeding heavily, but her face was fierce and focused. "That way!" she shouted to me, pointing to the south.

I nodded, rising into the air and bursting forward. I could sense her nearby, some part of me that felt-

_How are you still alive?!_

I gasped, losing my focus on flight and nearly tumbling to the ground. Dark could still talk to me. We could still hear each other.

Suddenly, I realized what that meant. This time I would use it to my advantage. This time I would be strong.

_Let's just say…_I smirked. _I met someone._

I could feel Dark's anger pulsating through my own fingers_. That's impossible…the only thing that could heal you would be the Master Emerald! And Knuckles is dead! _

I ignored the knife that wrenched through my gut at the mention of his name, and stayed intent on seeming as though I had an idea of what I was doing. When in truth, I had no clue. I grinned, thinking, _Well, Dark, seems you aren't as smart as you think you are._

_You son of a bitch, I'll rip you to shreds! You think just because now you discovered that screwed up ability of yours, you'll be able to defeat me? You're design was well-developed, but not nearly as well-developed as mine! I was crafted by geniuses! _She cried.

I gritted my teeth. She…she was "crafted." Meaning…she wasn't really me? No. I needed to focus. She was trying to trick me, confuse me. Now was the time for revenge. Knuckles would NOT die in vain!

_Where are you?!_ I bellowed, the call echoing around my own head.

_Behind you._

I whirled around, a fist immediately coming up and punching my nose, causing a sharp "crack." The blow sent me crashing into a tree, splitting it in two. I snarled, popping my bleeding nose back into place. I clenched my fists and screeched towards her, swiping a kick towards her face. It hit, catching her off-guard, and I began charging the energy in my palm. Hell, I had no idea what it was, but I knew it was effective.

She rose, her face a jumble of anger and hatred, as I let the energy in my palm loose. To my amazement, a beam of stunning silver light came bursting out of it, leaving my fingers feeling cold and numb, but hitting Dark with the force of a cannon ball. She was thrown backwards, flying into one of the vehicles that sat outside Tails' workshop. She was enraged by my sudden ability, and came bursting out of the wreckage, sending shadows flying from her fingers like cicadas. I summoned more of the energy, swiping my palm in a vertical plane in front of my body and grinning when a translucent silvery shield formed. Although I wasn't directly touching it, as soon as the shadows hit it I could feel the tension as if someone was pushing me back. I gritted my teeth, straining my muscles and forcing the shield to stay in place.

Dark snarled at me, infuriated. I had honestly never seen her so angry. _After all this time, I am NOT letting YOU of all people get in my way!_ She screamed, breaking through the barrier I had created and forcing the darkness to wrap around my neck. I struggled and squirmed, gasping for breath as it began to strangle me. I blindly sent out beams of energy, kicking at the shadows that weren't even solid enough for one to kick.

Finally, one of the beams caught it, and the shadows drew back, releasing me. I bared my teeth at Dark, daring her to try me. _Try me. _I growled. _I'm just as eager to knock the stuffing out of you as you are to me._

_Oh, ho, so our little innocent Stary's growing up now, is she? _Dark laughed, a harsh, violent sound. _Excellent. I'd say it's about time._

I charged at her, screaming with rage, light swirling around my fist as I shoved it at her gut. She laughed, dodging by merely flying up. _You're too slow, Star._

I clenched my fists, shaking with fury. _Quit running away from me, Dark!_

_That's rich coming from you, hun._

I swiped a kick at her again, knocking her hard across the jaw. She merely countered with a punch, and I winced as it hit me directly in the stomach.

_I see you've yet to meet Leader_, Dark commented, watching my fighting tactics. _You haven't a hell of an idea of what you're doing, do you?_

_I know quite well that you led me away from my parents when I could have saved them, that you took over Shadow and Silver's bodies, and that you killed Knuckles. _I said through my teeth.

_Oh, sweetie, I've done a hell of a lot more than THAT._ She laughed, sending another beam of darkness at me.

**

* * *

**

POV: Leader

"Tara, get over here!" I shouted, clenching my teeth as I scanned the screen. I hurriedly typed into the keyboard, slamming my fist down when 'DENIED' instantly appeared on the screen.

"Yes, Leader!" Tara ran over to me, sliding into the chair next to mine.

"Hack into this system," I ordered. "Where's Kael?"

"In the Black Room, Leader," Tara replied, her hands busily trying to crack the code. "I don't know if I can break this, it's-"

I grabbed her by the collar, bringing her face inches from mine. "Unless you want Star and Dark to destroy the entire city, you'd _better_ break that code, Taralyn. You're the best engineer I have here, and we don't have time for options. Crack it, or we lose all that we've worked for."

She took a deep breath, "Yes, Leader."

I let go of her, shoving her back down into her seat. She remained calm, however. That was a nice thing about Tara: she wasn't easily frightened.

I quickly headed towards the Black Room, typing the code into the monitor next to the door without so much as glancing at it. I knew this facility like the back of my hand.

"Kael," I said, as the doors slid open.

The echidna was sitting upon a small desk in the center of the room, watching the giant screen with huge, terrified eyes. I could tell he had been crying, as his cheeks were still shiny with tears and his eyes were red and puffy. I tried my best to ignore the guilt I felt wrench through my gut. He was too young to fully understand what was going on. But he was completely and utterly important, as he was the only one we had left who could access the Master Emerald. We had gone through a lot of difficult time travel to get him to this time period. And that wouldn't last forever. Every second counted in this "life" he led.

He turned to look over at me once he heard his name being said. "Yes, Leader?" he asked, his voice shaking, though he was trying to keep it under control.

"Did you give Star as much energy as you possibly could, Kael? It's vitally important that you did," I told him.

"I tried," he whispered. "I'm not as good with the Emerald as Dad-er, Knuckles is…was," he quietly corrected himself.

I exhaled. I knew how much his father's death was tearing him apart. Really, it was hurting me just about as much. If only _I_ hadn't created Dark…if I hadn't had that horrible, horrible accident…the accident when everything went wrong…then maybe, just maybe, the future Kael belonged to might have worked out.

"Will I ever get to go back to my time?" he asked me, his green eyes lifting to look at mine. Despite everything that had happened, there was still that childish glimmer of hope in his emerald irises. Emerald irises that weren't different from my own.

I pushed this thought away.

I slowly shook my head. "I'm sorry, Kael, but the future you used to live in doesn't exist anymore. We brought you here to the past because you were the only option we had."

"…Why doesn't my future exist anymore?" he asked, almost hesitantly, and I knew he was afraid to hear the answer. How were you supposed to tell a ten-year-old that, basically, everything he had ever known was forfeit?

"…Because of Dark. Because of me. As soon as I came up with Dark's design…as soon as I made that dreadful mistake…the future you belong to became void. That's because Dark led to our experiments with Star. And our experiments with Star led to her and Knuckles' love, a love which didn't include me, by any means. And because Knuckles fell in love with the wrong person, and thus was killed because of it, it is impossible for you to truly exist," I explained quietly. I was no good with children. Especially not troubled ones from the future. And especially not Kael.

He sighed. I knew he was having difficulty grasping the fact that he wasn't really real. In fact, give a few months and he would completely disappear. That's why we were using him as much as we could right now. He was basically a thinking and breathing hologram, one that wouldn't last forever.

"…In the future…my future…" Kael's eyes found the floor. "You loved me. You loved me a lot." He glanced up at me again. "Why don't you love me here?"

I didn't respond, but instead turned away and slid open the doors again. "Stop watching the screen, Kael. We need you in the main room. Star's losing energy quickly."

"That's because you haven't told her anything! She has no idea what she's dealing with!" Kael cried abruptly. I gritted my teeth. Great, now the kid had feelings for the yellow hedgehog.

"I've kept the information from her because I believed it was necessary to-"

"She's confused, Leader! She has no idea what's going on! She thinks that Dark is a part of her, and she doesn't remember you or me or Tara or any of the things that we did to her. She has amnesia, all because-" Kael exclaimed.

"We planned for that. It was necessary. All that's happened has been out of necessity," I said, trying to keep my cool. _He's only ten, Leader, he's only-_

"Oh, so my Dad dying was out of necessity, huh?" Kael growled.

I whirled on him, though I did so professionally. All I did was professional. There was a reason behind my every step."You _will_ show respect to me, Kael. I have sacrificed a great deal to-"

"And you think I haven't?!" He cried, and I could hear the tears in his voice. "You made me give up everything! My family, my brothers and sisters, a life where you actually were proud of me! Where I come from, you were nice. You weren't covered with armor and angry at the world all the time. You were in love, and you were happy," he snapped at me.

"This is not where you come from, Kael. Like I said, where you come from doesn't exist anymore."

And with that, I marched out and slammed the doors shut.

**

* * *

**

POV: Starlight

Dark picked at her nails, sighing. _It took me a while to remember everything and to figure out what exactly was going on. You see, becoming a part of another body that isn't your own isn't the easiest thing to do, and it wiped out some of my memory. However, I easily gained it back once I found the Chaos Emeralds. You, on the other hand, don't remember a thing, do you? _Dark looked at me quizzically as we floated in the sky, both of us poised to strike the other.

_What is it that I'm supposed to remember!? _I snapped at her. God! I was so SICK of all these riddles!!

_I'm not really a part of you, Star. Well…_ she sighed, running a hand through her quills and muttering, _how am I supposed to explain this to a total idiot…look, I'm not DIRECTLY you. I'm an…experiment, say? But I became a part of your body when…you know what? Forget it. You're not worth it. It's more fun kicking your ass then to play story time anyway._

She grinned menacingly, and shoved her boot into my diaphragm, quickly clapping her hands against my ears. I cried out in pain, disoriented and dizzy as I blindly swung my palm toward her, trying to slap her back with a taste of the light energy. She dodged this, jabbing her fist against my rib cage.

Enraged, I threw my body against hers, crying, "ARAGGGGH!!" as I let loose a straight beam of the silvery energy from my palms.

She yelped in pain as it cocooned her, wrapping her in a strange sheath-like cloud that made her momentarily disappear from view. For about half of a split-second, I was amazed. Had I really gotten rid of-

Of course not. An infuriated cloud of darkness burst through the sheath of light, and before I knew what exactly had happened we were locked in battle again.

**

* * *

**

POV: Leader

"This is not going well," I muttered, grabbing Tara's shoulder. "Tara, tell me why the _hell_ she hasn't defeated Dark yet! If there's one thing I know better than anything else, it's my own work, and I made absolutely certain that Star was my best project so far! So tell me why she hasn't unleashed her full energy and had light destroy the darkness!"

"Leader, it's far more complicated than we had originally presumed," Taralyn explained, with an edge of accusation in her voice. As if she were upset with _me_! "You see, Starlight's energetic composition is already composed of several-"

"I don't care about the science, Tara! I want Dark dead and gone by dawn! I'm sick of having blood on my hands!" I snapped.

Tara stared me directly in the eye. She was too much like me to snap in a situation like this. She knew I was being ridiculous as much as I knew I was being ridiculous. Damn.

"All we can do is wait," Tara said calmly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the screen; the one which depicted Star and Dark. I blinked, turning to look at it fully. It was then that I saw the planes.

I whirled on my heel, stalking towards the control tower. I grabbed the phone out of Reeves' hands, putting it to my ear. "Commander, I'd like to know exactly what it is you're doing, sending G.U.N airships into a zone restricted by—"

"Thank you, Leader, but we have this under control. As you can see, your little experiments are destroying my city," the Commander of G.U.N interrupted me mid-sentence.

I gritted my teeth, watching the screen again. It was true, Star and Dark had moved into Station Square and were currently wrecking skyscrapers. I could see Star trying to draw Dark out of the area, but it was clear Dark enjoyed vandalism enough that she wasn't going anywhere. Still, I replied with a confident "Sir, with all due respect, I highly doubt your little missiles are going to make the slightest bit of difference in this fight. We may have to just let it run its course and—"

"Let the city be destroyed, along with its innocent civilians?" The Commander asked angrily. "I don't think so, Leader. I've trusted you to be the commander of your own private organization and I've let you do your science, your experiments, your bullcrap, but this time it's gone too far. My job is to keep my city safe, and I will do such." He then promptly hung up.

I cursed under my breath, hanging up the phone and turning to the screen. "Reeves, get me the President. I'll be needing a favor from him."

The black cat pressed his glasses back up his nose, his giant blue eyes blinking at me. "Ma'am, the President is currently halfway across the world right now, on vacation," he told me. "Even if I could reach him, he wouldn't be able to monitor—"

"Never mind. Just watch the screen. If G.U.N starts getting too cocky, call me," I interrupted him, already headed towards my office. This was going to be a long night.

**

* * *

**

POV: G.U.N Soldier

"Red One calling Red Two, are we ready to move in? Over."

"Red Two to Red One, the signal's been given. Move in. Over ," I said into my mouthpiece, glancing down at the wreckage below. It looked like half of Station Square was on fire.

"My God, that thing's on a rampage…why do we always find ourselves out to kill black hedgehogs?" A voice asked inside my earpiece.

"Dunno, but they sure seem keen on making sure we have a shit day," another grumble came from the earpiece.

"Stay focused, men," I told them, watching the dark blue hedgehog (which we had been told was named "Dark") send another--well, I didn't know exactly what it was, but it looked like a deep black thunder cloud—towards the white hedgehog. Apparently the white hedgehog was supposed to be "the good girl", going by the title of "Star", but I wasn't taking any chances. If she hit one more skyscraper, I'd be taking her out before she could say 'oops'. "Get a lock on the dark blue one," I ordered, turning my plane slightly so that I was in a better position to strike. "Ready? Aim…"

"Hell yeah," I heard one of my men smirk. We'd all been itching to get our fingers around a trigger.

"…Fire."

I pressed my thumbs against the red buttons positioned on the wheel and the bullets began to rip, headed straight for the dark blue hedgehog. I grinned, watching them fly through the air. I was confident we had her beat. There was no way she could escape this onslaught. She looked up for a split second…

"…"

"Son of a bitch!!"

"Red Three down! Red Three down!"

"I'm hit, I'm hit!"

I couldn't hardly see anything, let alone make any sense of whatever the hell was happening. It was completely dark and my window had been smashed. I felt my plane spinning out of control, and I could just barely make out another plane not far away, its tail on fire. It was spinning wildly as well, dropping closer and closer to the ground every second.

"Eject! Eject!" I cried into my mouthpiece, trying to get the man in the plane to get out of danger.

I saw a small figure burst out of the plane, a cloud of smoke coming up around him as his plane continued to spin and eventually hit the ground, exploding. I shielded my eyes, trying desperately to get control of my own plane.

There was a sudden flash of blue and I gritted my teeth, twisting my wheel to the side. I wasn't going to eject; we'd already lost one plane! I needed to keep-

"Mother of-!!" I cried, as I was suddenly lifted from my seat by two scrawny arms. Needless to say, I panicked. I veered to the right, shoving the arm against the side window.

"Ow, jeez! Stop it, you moron! I'm saving your life!" A voice came from outside the plane and suddenly a face appeared in front of my window.

It was all I could do to keep from screaming like a little girl. My God, where were all these damn _hedgehogs_ coming from?!

The hedgehog grabbed me again, pulling me out of my plane and leaping into the air. "The name's Sonic," he rolled his eyes, as if the fact that we were now plummeting to the earth below was no big deal. "Shut your pie-hole," he sighed, clamping a hand over my mouth as I began screaming at him. I closed my eyes. I was gonna die, I was gonna die, I was gonna die-

We suddenly landed, making a very loud _clang_, as the hedgehog's shoes hit metal. I slowly opened my eyes to discover that we were on a blue plane, titled the _Tornado._

"Get us out of here, Tails," the blue hedgehog told the fox who was positioned in the driver's seat. My eyes were nearly popping out of my sockets. I had to be hallucinating. The fox looked like he was about eight years old! Not to mention the fact that he was a bloody _fox_!

"Calm down; you're acting hysterical," Sonic gave me a look. "I thought you G.U.N soldiers were supposed to be brave."

"Not when we're getting kidnapped by _blue hedgehogs_!" I shouted over the roar of the engine.

He facepalmed. "C'mon, Tails. Let's go. Star's got this under control.

…I hope."

**

* * *

**

POV: Starlight

I slammed the toe of my boot into Dark's stomach, dazing her for a second. I whirled around, staring wide-eyed as the plane spun out of control, flying towards Earth at a crazy speed. Innocent lives were being taken now. I needed to get Dark out of here, and fast.

I glanced at her from over my shoulder, and nearly got a face-full of fist. I jerked my head back then flew out of the way, smirking and shouting, "Come and get me, fat ass!"

It was taunting such as this that was the only thing I knew would work. One of Dark's few weaknesses was her temper at hearing someone offend her. She snarled at me, her palms unleashing a blast of energy that knocked the wind out of my lungs. I sky-rocketed down towards the earth for about five seconds before regaining any feeling in my chest. I quickly inhaled, though it hurt to do this and I figured that she had probably broken one or two of my ribs. Regaining my ability to fly, I straightened up, floating to the tip of a skyscraper. I caught my breath for about a millisecond before Dark was sending beams at me again.

I swiped my palm in front of me, creating a shield of energy again. It was nearly transparent, but shimmered slightly. I quickly made it bigger, and before I knew it Dark's beams were hitting it. I squeezed my eyes shut as a great force was thrown against my shoulders yet again, and I had to push back in order to keep the shield in place.

I saw out of the corner of my eye the blue flash that was Sonic. He must have saved the pilot of the crashing plane. I knew he would.

I gasped as the shield shattered, and I had less than a second to duck down as Dark's beams sliced the air above my head. My eyes wide, I swooshed to the side, soaring towards…I didn't even know. Just as far from Station Square as I could get. Far away from anymore innocent lives Dark could take.

I had a feeling I wouldn't get far.

**

* * *

**

POV: Leader

"She's leading her away from Station Square."

"Good."

"And G.U.N?"

"A few planes down, but they're not giving up."

"Tell them to round up a force. We're gonna need a lot of power. Blockade a certain area."

"Wha-what do you mean, Leader?"

I swiped my card across the scanner. "We're going to trap Dark. And then let Star finish her off. Contact Sonic and the others. We're gonna need everyone we can get."

Reeves picked up the phone. "Sonic?"

"_Hello?"_

"This is Dr. Harold Reeves, scientist of the—"

"_Yeah, yeah, get on with it. I'm kinda in the middle of something right now, can I call you back la-"_

"No, Mr. Sonic. You see, I'm watching the exact same thing you are. Station Square getting destroyed by your sister and her darker counterpart," Reeves said, spinning his chair to the left, crossing his legs and gazing at the screen.

I smirked. Despite being shaky and nervous around me, Reeves was a good convincer.

"…_Okay, I'm listening. Who are you, anyway?"_

"I already said I'm Dr. Harold Reeves, scientist of the—"

"_Never mind. Just cut to the chase."_

Reeves sighed. "We need you to get your little friends together and attack Dark. We need to get her into a blockaded area, so that Star can finish the job."

"_Finish the job, as in kill her?"_

"Yes, that's generally the id-"

"_Alright, so you want us getting involved? Getting a piece of the action?" _I could practically hear the smile in Sonic's voice.

"Yes…" Reeves replied dryly.

"_Alright, see ya there."_

"Wait! We still need to—he's hung up," Reeves said, exhaling harshly and placing the phone back into the holder.

"He hasn't changed a bit," I said, the slightest smile twitching upon my lips. Then my eyes flashed to the screen and my lips fell back into their usual thin line.

"Assemble the forces," I ordered Reeves. "I want Tara at the front lines, with me. Get our suits ready." I cracked my knuckles. "It's about time we got a piece of the action again."

**

* * *

**

POV: Sonic

I frowned, hopping down off of Tails' plane and running towards where the others were staying. My gaze quickly averted to the sky, and I cringed as I saw Star nearly topple into another skyscraper. Whoever "Dr. Harold Reeves" was…he was right; we needed to get Dark out of here.

"Listen to me!" I called to everyone, breaking into where they had made a small make-shift shelter for keeping some wounded. Amy was a better nurse than I would have originally thought. "I need anyone who can still use their two feet to come with me. We're going to assemble a blockade."

"What good is that gonna do?" Silver muttered from where he was sitting, hunched against a wall, his head in-between his knees, staring at the ground.

I knelt down beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon, man!"I said kindly. "Don't you want to have some fun? We're gonna kick Dark from here to New Mobotropolis!"

He slowly looked up and I jerked backwards. His eyes showed a surprising amount of hostility towards me, more than I had thought Silver was capable of. Even more so than when he had thought I was the Iblis Trigger, which was certainly saying something. "Get your hands off of me, Sonic," he said through clenched teeth, emphasizing my name, as if it was a word of disgust.

"Jeez, lighten up," I said, rising back to my feet and giving him a perplexed look. What had I done?

Blaze entered the room, keeping her eyes directly trained on me and refusing to look anywhere else in the room. "What do you want us to do?"

"Find anyone who can still fight, and come with me," I told her and she nodded discreetly, whirling on her heels and walking in the other direction. Silver eyed her in an almost reticent manner, though there was a hint of accusation behind his amber irises. I decided not to focus too much on this, and turned to Tails.

"Tails, buddy, can I get you to-"

"…What are we going to do with the body, Sonic? Knuc…his body," Tails interrupted, raising his clear aqua blue eyes to meet mine tentatively.

I blinked, having not anticipated this question. I tried to swipe away the dread that clawed at my stomach, thinking of the red echidna, thinking of how the "Sonic Heroes" were no longer a trio. I swallowed hard, but didn't let any of my emotions appear on my face. If there was anybody who had to stay strong now, it was me and Star. But she had enough on her hands right now, so it was up to me to handle the rest. If I gave up, the others would give up.

"Shadow will get it," I replied to Tails, glancing over at the ebony hedgehog. I saw him just as he slipped off his inhibitor rings. I opened my mouth to ask him what the hell he was doing, when he stopped me by saying:

"You really think Star can win this on her own? Sure, she's Super, but her black counterpart's Hell in hedgehog form. I'll move Knuckles' body someplace safe, but soon as that's over I'm in this battle. To win it," he added, almost harshly, his red eyes gleaming.

I warily smoothed my quills back, saying, "Shadow, the blockade—"

"Not to mention," he interrupted yet again, slowly walking to a wooden crate and setting his inhibitor rings on top of it, "that we haven't the slightest idea how and why Star is alive, let alone Super. None of us gave her the energy, and Knuckles wasn't and isn't alive to feed her Master Emerald energy. So I'm not going to trust that she has enough power to kill Dark."

I couldn't argue with this point, however much it irked me to admit Shadow being right. But I pressed my point, saying, "That doesn't mean you should just fly into the battle like some bat out of Hell."

"I've got Rouge for that," Shadow smirked. "No pun intended. She's coming with me."

"No, Shadow, we're all going together," I heard Blaze say sternly. I looked over my shoulder to see her walking towards us, along with Amy (who was huffing at the pain of a dislocated shoulder), her brows furrowed together in as much determination as deep thought. "We've lost enough already, in case you're too thick-headed to notice."

Shadow watched her stop next to me, crossing her arms as if to scold a child. However, he stayed cool, saying, "So, what's the plan then? Since we don't seem to be doing much at the moment."

I exhaled, chewing on the inside of my cheek. "All I need is some cooperation right now, everyone. Some organization, G.U.N, I'm guessing, wants us to create a blockade around Dark, in order for Star to get a clear shot at her. The organization believes Star can destroy Dark, if she gets said clear shot."

Blaze stepped back to Amy, yanking her shoulder. The pink hedgehog shrieked in pain, as her shoulder popped back into place. Blaze paid no attention to this and continued to talk. "Alright, but _how_, Sonic?"

I nodded, agreeing that just saying we were going to create a blockade was a lot easier than actually executing it. "Okay, here's how it's going to work. Shadow, Rouge, Silver? I want you guys to go…pick up the body. Then I want you attacking Dark's left side, forcing her further out north. Amy, Knu—" I realized my mistake. "Never mind. Amy, Tails? Attack her left side, but not so much forcefully as…well, try and lure her into the trap. Blaze and I will actually create the trap—which is to be a little circle of surprise—and then we'll help Star with the actual final attack. I believe that G.U.N will be helping us enforce this blockade. Understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Amy winced, still stroking her shoulder, as her and Tails headed to the _Tornado_.

"We'll meet you there, then," Shadow nodded, and stepped out, Rouge and Silver following him. I was not too distracted as to miss Silver's accusing glance in my direction.

When they were all gone, Blaze gave me a suspicious look. "What do you mean, 'little circle of surprise'?"

I smiled a bit, putting an arm around her. "Let's just say, it's gonna be awful hot near the north side of Station Square."

_

* * *

_

Author's Note: So, a few questions are at least partly answered, and you're beginning to see what will be setting the stage for the sequel, 'Light'. Now, if anyone's confused about anything, don't hesitate to say so in a review, and I will gladly reply. But, please, also leave some other comments instead of just saying "I'm confused."

_Hope you enjoyed, and thank you SO MUCH for putting up with me thus far! XD_


	19. The End of the Beginning, Part 2

**POV: Leader**

I cracked my neck, getting used to the elongated limbs that this robotic suit caused me to have. The suit had always given a bizarre sort of feeling, as if your entire body had been stretched out and covered in metal. The headpiece fastened at my chin, and I marched over to the mirror, smirking. It was nice to see myself in armor again, and it made me able to push away my feelings of trepidation for the fight I was about to face.

I turned around to find Tara in the doorway, suited up as well. Her headpiece, however, was left unfastened, and I could see her face. She looked ready, but troubled, her violet eyes watching mine with a look I could only read as 'this isn't going to be as easy as we might think, Leader.'

"Something the matter?" I asked, removing my own headpiece, knowing that furrowed eyebrows on Tara's face usually meant a vision gone wrong.

"I can't access Star's head anymore. It's too…busy. We're just going to have to take this by chance," she explained to me, her striped white fur gleaming in the dimmed light. She didn't like taking things by chance.

"Understandable," I nodded. "And of Kael? Certainly he knows he won't be fighting."

A smile pulled at Tara's lips. She was very fond of the child, as he was one of the few people who could calm her erratic mind. "He certainly put up a good fight with Reeves," she told me, "but Reeves convinced him—not without a little heartstring-pulling—that he was far too inexperienced to fight Dark."

"Good." I nodded, satisfied.

"You ready?" she asked me, and I could tell from the look on her face that she was trying to get inside my head. I suppose that, after all these years, I should have developed a way to keep her out of my mind. But, then again, knowing Tara, she would have found a way around it anyway.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" I said, almost more to myself than to Tara, my eyes trailing down to the headpiece I held in my hands. The empty eyes reflected the grim countenance of my face.

"It has…" The snow white tiger nodded thoughtfully, but her eyes were still trained on me.

I turned to face her. "Let's head out."

I closed my headpiece, and she did the same. It was strange, looking the way we did now. For many, we were viewed as terrible villains, though that was because we were either mistaken for another group of robots, or our motives were simply misunderstood. I hoped we wouldn't surprise or frighten Star too much. She couldn't afford any distractions. Not in this battle.

"Come on," I said to Tara, my voice coming out disfigured and metallic. I almost sounded like a male, but I pushed this thought aside. It was good that I sounded commanding.

We headed to the launching station, ducking beneath doorways, as we were now quite a bit taller. "Good luck, Leader, Tara!" several of our workers cheered, though there was a lack of hope in their voices. The cheer sounded far too forced and fearful, as if they were afraid that when all was said and done, there would no longer _be_ a "Leader." I shook my head. No. I had worked too hard to give up now.

"Reeves, prepare us for launch," I ordered, placing my giant feet into the small marked patterns on the steel floor. I swallowed at the sight of them, being reminded of the Nocturnus Clan; of the great magic I had left behind in order to further develop technology. Maybe that had always been the thing that truly kept me from Knuckles.

"Yes, ma'am," the voice in my earpiece replied.

"Here we go," Tara said, bending her knees slightly, her eyes darting to the sky. She clenched her fists, breathing steadily. She had always hated the launch.

"Indeed," I said simply, standing erect. I had been through this procedure billions of times.

The roof above us began to lower, folding so that there was nothing above but clear, night sky. I couldn't keep the smile from forming on my face. The last time I had been out flying had been so long ago.

"3….2…" Reeves counted off for us, jabbing at various buttons and levers on the control panel.

"1," I finished for him.

Tara squeezed her eyes shut, while I merely closed mine, as adrenaline shot through our systems and we were whirled upwards, at a dizzying rate, straight for the stars. For a few moments, everything was a blur and I lost all sense of what was up and what was down. Opening my eyes, I switched on my controls, and changed direction. "Reeves, calculate approximate distance from Starlight Jane the Hedgehog."

"15 miles," Reeves replied immediately, and I could hear him busily typing something.

"Good. Tara, switch to top speed. Keep in control," I ordered. I didn't care about the fact that she had done this about as many times as I had and ordering her around like this was probably irritating, but I _was_ her Leader and…standard procedures were standard procedures.

"Yes, Leader," Tara replied, coming to fly beside me. She kept her eyes trained forward, but I could feel her probing my mind with hers, trying to see my real motives.

"Stop that," I ordered. "If I need you to hear or see something I'm thinking, I'll _tell _you or _show_ you. Otherwise, stay out of my head."

"I would," she replied, her head slowly turning to face mine, her eyes giving me a very knowing look. "If I weren't worried for what you have planned."

"You have no reason to fear," I reassured her sternly, keeping my eyes trained forward.

She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. "Is that so?"

"Taralyn, do _not_ disrespect me."

"I in no way mean to disrespect you, Leader. I'm merely paranoid."

"Paranoia is not a quality I value."

"I'm well aware."

"Then why have it?"

"Because," the tiger sighed, turning her head to look away, "on the occasion, it's not a bad thing to have."

I bit my tongue, closing my eyes for a brief moment. Tara was frustratingly wise sometimes, and I knew it wasn't as though she always agreed with every decision I made. But every step I took was for a reason, and if she didn't understand that, then she didn't belong here. And the truth was, I needed Tara. She was a genius in science and not terrible with her martial arts skills. But that was nowhere near compared to the strange and beautiful power of her mind, which I had tried to kindle and grow from the day I had first met her, back in a small town when we were both ignorant and foolish teenage girls. I remembered her coming to me often, desperately seeking someone to talk to, to help calm her. Her mind had long been both a gift and a curse to her, having stolen her childhood but provided her with a future.

I was torn away from these thoughts when a section of my earpiece began to beep.

"How far away are we now, Reeves?" I asked, seeing the glimmers of Station Square on the horizon.

"Five miles," the black cat replied instantaneously.

"Excellent."

"Status report on Star, if you would, Harold," Tara said calmly, politely, her eyes scanning the ground below us. We were currently passing Mystic Ruin, the twisted brambles and white marble ruins glowing eerily in the foggy darkness.

"Not good, but not particularly bad," Reeves replied. "She's moved Dark closer to where we will be setting up the blockade, and I believe her brother and his companions are on the move."

"And the G.U.N airships?" I questioned, my brows knitting together at the thought of G.U.N's aggravatingly ignorant Commander.

"Circling the area as we speak," Reeves answered, and I could hear him click onto another portion of the screen. A few seconds later, I heard the muffled voices of Sonic and a G.U.N soldier. "I think they're planning to cooperate, Leader," the cat concluded. "They seem to be consulting with Sonic."

"Good. We don't need any more trouble than we already have," I nodded to myself, content for the moment. Sonic, at least, was smart enough to know that this wasn't going to be an easy battle. He would keep the Commander at bay.

"You're approaching two miles from Station Square, Leader," Reeves told me after a few seconds of silence. "Starlight's signal should be coming up on your radar."

"It is," I replied, my eyes moving to the small radar located on the arm of my suit. "Keep a good look-out, Tara. As soon as we see Dark, we're going in."

"And if Star reacts?" Tara cocked an eyebrow at me. "You know she believes we killed her parents."

"Then we ignore her," I said, keeping my eyes on the ground below. "If she has any sense whatsoever, she'll let us help her."

"Leader, she's a sensible girl, but that doesn't mean she isn't going to attack the things she believes killed her parents. What's the plan if she _does_ attack us?" Tara asked pointedly.

"You'll hold her back, and I'll continue to attack Dark. Star's already running out of energy…she won't be able to take on both you _and_ Dark, Tara." The tiger glanced up, startled at what I had just said. "And, yes, I'm complimenting you," I added, with the slightest twitch of a smile.

She smiled as well, though it was a bit of a surprised one. She wasn't used to this kind of flattery from anyone but Kael. That silly echidna thought the sun shined out her ass.

"Approaching Star, Leader!" Reeves called from within my earpiece. "I'm afraid I have to cut communication here, in order for you to use your suit's full mechanics. I'll be monitoring the screen, however," he told me reassuringly, though his voice was growing muffled and static-y.

"Yes, Reeves. Thank you for your assistance. We will not fail," I said, the smile wiping from my face and an incredible seriousness replacing it.

"Good luck, Leader. Tara."

"Thank you, Harold. We will indeed return successful," Tara replied, but it was clear her mind was somewhere else. It was circling Dark's mind, trying to break through the barrier.

Reeves cut his communication from us and I could see Star and Dark in plain view. Exhilaration rushed through me as I watched the two fight for a moment. A beam of light shot from the yellow hedgehog's palms, and I couldn't help but be momentarily mesmerized. I…_I_ had created that energy.

"Leader? Permission to attack," Tara glanced at me, noticing how I had yet to give the signal.

I blinked, clearing my mind. Quickly shifting a few gears so that my suit was in "attack mode", I narrowed my eyes, angling myself towards Dark.

"…Permission granted."

Tara instantly shot like a bullet towards the fighting pair of hedgehogs, her fist pulling back. I stayed where I was for a split second, my eyes darting to the horizon, where I saw the first blaze of fire begin to crackle against the night sky.

"Keep at it, Sonic," I whispered, and then dived down towards Earth.

* * *

**POV: Starlight**

I panted heavily, happy to see that Dark was doing the same. She was floating in mid-air across from me, a slash across her left cheek causing blood to run down into her mouth, along with the many other cuts and bruises that covered her body. Not that I was in any better shape. The powerful punch to the left eye she had given me left me unable to open it, and my leg was bleeding badly as well. But both of us were too enraged to give any notice.

"_You ready to give up yet?_" she asked, her voice being heard by my ears as well as my mind. It was horribly creepy, but I didn't flinch. I was tired of constantly being her play-thing.

"_Aheh. You wish," _I smirked back, making sure my voice made its way through her ears and mind as well.

I was so preoccupied with watching her face, that I didn't notice the way the ground below me was starting to become shrouded by the same strange blackness that looked as though it had lightning pulsating within it. The same energy that had killed Knuckles.

By the time I realized what she was doing, it was too late. A huge slab of concrete tore its way up from the ground, surrounded by the darkness, and before I could react, Dark had thrown it up at me, using her control of said darkness. It hit me head-on, and I was sent crashing into the side of a building, going through several walls in the process. I managed to create a small shield behind my back to keep my spine from cracking in two, but it didn't keep the impact from knocking every ounce of breath out of my lungs and getting a horrible amount of dust and debris into my eyes and cuts.

I groaned, blinking, my eyes widening when I realized that a basketball-sized ball of the electrical darkness was within Dark's palm, and she was aiming it at me. She would kill me, same as she had Knuckles. And it would be easy.

I tried to create a shield as Dark laughed maniacally, but it faltered almost immediately. "Shit, shit, shit!" I growled to myself, as I realized how much bigger the darkness in my counterpart's palm was getting. I couldn't see anything; I couldn't focus!

"You try my patience, Star! Get up and defend yourself, or stay completely still so I can watch the color drain from your face!" Dark shouted to me, her razor-sharp teeth gleaming cruelly as she grinned. She was loving this. Every last moment.

I hated her for that.

My hands were stuck in the plaster, as I had had quite an impact when slamming into the building. I had no way to defend myself from what was growing larger by the second in her palms. And she was going to release it any second.

I clenched my fists, staring her down. If this was the way I was going to die, I wasn't going to show any weakness. She had taken so much from me, and I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of knowing that any more than she already did.

The black erupted from her fingers.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a giant flash of grey zoomed into view, giving an incredible roundhouse kick to the darkness and sending it spiraling down towards the Earth. Dark seemed shocked momentarily, until her eyes laid upon the figure who had done the deed.

"Tara!" she hissed, her red eyes flashing with recognition.

My mouth fell open, as I was finally able to see the figure in the armor, with the beady black eyes and the long, sharp arm that looked like an elongated sword. No. No, no, no, no—this couldn't be happening!

How could the Metarex be _here_?!

* * *

**POV: Sonic**

"Keep 'em comin', Blaze!" I shouted over the roar of the flames, the heat pouring down upon me like actual waves. I had to shield my eyes from the onslaught of smoke and debris as sweat dripped down Blaze's brow. She had her eyes narrowed and focused on the fire, as she muttered things under her breath and the flames grew larger and larger.

I whipped around to find several G.U.N aircrafts making their way towards where we were setting up the blockade. I grinned as one of them steered partially out of control when its pilot laid eyes upon the wildfire.

Blaze was gritting her teeth now and I knew that creating the blockade was becoming particularly strenuous for her. Keeping all of this fire ablaze and yet controlled had to be a difficult feat. I took another sweep around the blockade circle, hoping to stir up some more oxygen and help her with the flames.

"Star will bring Dark here soon, Blaze! We just need a bit more time!" I yelled, as I dashed around the circle several times, and the flames sprung higher.

"No…problem...!" Blaze shouted back through a clenched jaw.

I pulled to a sudden halt, spraying dust and dirt everywhere in the process, as I watched the battle that was taking place above the skyscrapers of Station Square. It wasn't hard to locate my sister; she was the white, incandescent orb that shot beams of blinding light into the din. Dark was much harder to find; she seemed to blend in with everything around her. But I forced myself to blink as I noticed two other figures amidst the chaos. They were both large and uncanny, and they seemed to be encased in steel, as every time they turned I would catch a glint of moonlight against their armor. Their helmets ended in a sharp point, and the suits seemed slender, almost feminine. I squinted my eyes, trying to get a closer look. There was a strange familiarity about them; the glowing lines across their armor only made that fact even more freaky.

"Blaze, is it just me, or does this not look goo—" I began, but was interrupted by Shadow approaching me, followed by Silver and Rouge.

"We moved Knuckles' body to Tails' garage down in Mystic Ruin," Shadow reported, without a trace of emotion, though his eyes had moved to follow my line of sight.

"It was the best we could do with the time we had," Rouge added, seeing my face grow doubtful. Mystic Ruin wasn't exactly considered the safest place around.

"It doesn't really matter, now does it?" Silver pushed in, rather aggressively, which was unusual for him. "What's going on?"

I raised an eyebrow at the white hedgehog, then looked back at the sky. "We have to start working soon. The only problem is that Star and Dark seem to have made some new friends." I pointed up at the two armored figures, who were now slipping in and out of my line of vision along with Star and Dark.

"Do you think we should wait?" Rouge asked, putting her gloved hand to her lips. "You know, until we can be sure what those things are."

"No, I don't think we should wait," I replied without much thought over the matter. "Friend or foe, they can't get in our way. We need to get Dark over to the blockade, so that we can get rid of her."

"So we go in," Shadow finished, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.

"So we go in. Now, actually," I smirked. "Come on, let's get our hands dirty."

* * *

**POV: Leader**

Star was staring at me in such a way that I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Really, was it _that_ much of a shock? Did she really think that we would just show up one night at her home and never enter her life again? However, I wasn't about to mistake the fact that she would blast off a few of my limbs if she got the chance. I needed to show her that Tara and I were on her side, and I needed to do it fast.

Tara was in combat with Dark now, Dark throwing wild, furious kicks while Tara blocked them with a fluid, relaxed motion that could only have come with years and years of my personal training. Star looked bewildered and horrified and vengeful all at once, but I turned away from her. I sped to help Tara, knowing the tiger was too gentle of a creature to take on Dark all by herself. Tara hated fighting; I had known that for a long time. But I had forced her to train. What could I say? She was the perfect weapon.

I knocked my fist into Dark's jaw, gritting my teeth as I did such. We both spiraled out of control for a split second, and then I was suddenly face to face with the worst mistake of my life. "Leader!" she snarled, blood trailing down the edge of her lip. "What a pleasure." Her white teeth gleamed as her mouth twisted into some sort of sneer.

"I was going to come find you, you know? After I got rid of Star," she continued, getting out of her battle stance and assuming a casual position. I faced her, keeping myself at a ready angle. "When I retrieved the Chaos emeralds, I also retrieved a good portion of my memory. It was quite the experience; a real revelation." She shrugged, examining her nails and leaning against a beam on the side of a skyscraper.

"I remembered the machine you built for me, and the whole accident. What a mess. But I don't regret it in the least. And how could you either? I mean, Leader, look at what you've done!" Dark stood up straight on the beam now, and her palms filled with spheres of shadows, displaying her power. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asked, her eyes moving to examine my helmet. "I really wish you would remove your headpiece, darling. I'd love to see what you look like now."

A sort of strained, guttural noise escaped my throat as I watched her play with the darkness in-between her fingers. She laughed. "Oh, am I irritating you? I suppose you think it's wrong, me killing people. But I don't think you realize the potential you've given me. I could clean this world of its scum and create a new, shining era, just as you always wanted."

"That's enough," I answered sharply. I would show no weakness.

"Ah, she speaks! Excellent. I must admit, that suit gives you quite the appeal. Shows off your powerful shoulder blades. You almost look like you could take me on. But I'm not quite sure. After all, it's a simple—"

And then she was gone. For a second, I was stunned, until I realized that about ten feet beneath me, Starlight and Dark were wrestling with one another. "Do? You? EVER? Shut? UP?" Star roared, slamming a light-encased fist into Dark's diaphragm. The latter winced, but grabbed Star by the wrist and shoved her into the wall. Star retaliated with a blow to the head and Dark plummeted a few meters.

Then Star shot up like a bullet and her emerald eyes were suddenly inches from mine. Her fist struck out, but I covered my hand around it, cracking it back. She yelped in pain as her wrist dislocated and I shoved my knee against her stomach.

"Stop this, Starlight, we're on your side!" I shouted at her, but I knew the fact that my voice sounded like an alien's wasn't helping. She would never believe me until I showed her my face. But how could I at the scene of battle?

"LIAR!" she bellowed, and blasted light energy towards me, with her good hand. "If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened! I would be home! HOME! Do you hear me, you bastard?!" She was shaking with fury.

"Listen to me, Starlight, my name is Leader! You remember your dream, don't you? Listen to me, you fool!" I dodged a fool-hardy beam of light. "The dream! The one with a young boy named Kael? He's—he's my—"

But now Dark was entering the picture again, and the scene was spiraling out of my control and nothing was going as planned. The flames along the horizon were rising ever higher and we were running out of time; we needed more time!

Tara was warping her mind around Dark's; I could feel it with the strange chill in the air and the glazed, glowing look of Tara's eyes. She had removed her headpiece and was staring at Dark with such intensity that it wouldn't have surprised me if Dark exploded right then and there. Dark seemed to be getting distracted, and she glared at Tara, knowing what the tiger was trying to do.

"Don't play mind games with me, Tara! I know how you work!" she shouted, but she was biting her lip hard, as if trying to keep herself from succumbing. Star was lying against the beam on the skyscraper, shaking her head and trying to regain her consciousness from the fall she had just taken.

Tara's eyes were literally glowing now, a translucent, glassy violet, and she raised her hands as Dark's face flashed with blood lust. Star burst from the beam, misinterpreting what Tara was trying to do, and headed to strike.

And suddenly the world ceased to exist when I heard a small, gentle voice scream, "Starlight!"

I saw Tara whipping around, a horror of which I'd never seen before displayed on her face, and there he was, standing below us on the ground; Kael, in all his utter foolishness! He was staring up at us and yelling at Star to stop it, to stop attacking Tara and I. Star was distracted and astounded, as she saw the ridiculous echidna with no common sense shouting up at her, and Dark took the moment to her advantage. She encased the slab of concrete beneath Kael's feet with darkness, and I could hear, from some far-off, distant place, Tara screaming. Her helmet was removed; her regular voice was tearing through the air.

And then I was diving towards the earth, because of some absurd instinct, and I was grabbing Kael around the waist and the concrete was swallowing us whole, as if it were itself alive. Everything was blurred and I was just trying to make it out of there alive, to save the child if only for Tara's sake, and I could feel the ground splitting beneath me. I cursed myself internally, cursed the horrid luck, cursed the stain of shadows that I had accidentally created.

And then it was gone, the darkness dissipated and I stared, wide-eyed, as Starlight blasted Dark back, with some kind of restored, brilliant sense of energy. "Don't you dare _TOUCH_ him!" Star bellowed, and another cascade of light exploded from her fingers, and she was driving Dark backwards, towards the blockade.

Kael's eyes were streaming with tears and he looked at me, terrified. I refused to return his gaze, but some strange, softer, unfamiliar side of me was silently thanking him. He had made Star realize what was happening, that we were on her side. And now we were going to win; I could feel it with every fiber of my body. This war was almost over.

Tara took Kael into her arms, whispering thanks like she was the mother of the child. She wasn't. I stopped their ridiculous reunion with a sharp "Tara, leave him at the corner. This isn't over yet."

She immediately stopped and did what she was told. Kael was left running after us, yelling that he wanted to fight too, but Tara and I were flying after Star and Dark, who were edging ever closer to the blockade. As we passed over the hill, my mouth fell open.

Sonic had pulled through. The meadow was ablaze, the grass burning to soot under the weight of the gargantuan flames. The heat was almost too much to bear, and the scene was covered with a multitude of G.U.N airships and tanks. I noticed several of Sonic's companions helping Starlight drive Dark into the ring of fire, including a small, blue plane titled the _Tornado._ I swallowed back the memories that came with the name, of stories told and shared. They were gone now, and I would not hear them again.

Dark was screaming curses at the animals, and I increased my speed as I saw a bat fall towards the ground, having been hit by a blast of Dark's energy. An explosion made me shield my eyes from dust and debris as a tank went up in flames, one of Dark's shadows having possessed it and caused it to turn on itself. It was a full on battle, of bullets and punches and missiles and sudden bursts of darkness and light appearing from all angles. It was like an over-done light show, where the orchestra was nothing but the sounds of splitting air and cries of fear, rage, and a growing ray of hope that this might, just might, be the end.

"We're winning," Tara whispered, almost as unable to believe it as me. But she was seeing the same thing I was; Dark was being terrifically outnumbered and no matter how many airships fell out of the sky, no matter how many of Sonic's companions crumpled to the ground, she was being driven back, and her power was failing her. It was magnificent, it was more than magnificent.

It was about time.

* * *

**POV: Starlight**

A strange, unidentified sense of purpose had filled my chest and I hovered in the middle of the battle scene, my attempts matching Dark's punch for punch. I didn't allow myself to be distracted by the exploding war machines, or by Sonic barking orders, or by the horrible heat that made it hard to see anything clearly. Dark was trapped like a fish out of water and finally, finally I was going to win. I didn't care about the unanswered questions, about the things she told me before. All that mattered was that I was finally going to get my revenge for all she had done.

I grabbed her by the shoulders, pushing her closer to the wall of flame. "What are you going to do, burn me to death? It won't work, you know that," she hissed, a slash against her cheek causing blood to run down her neck. A missile fired at us missed us by a fraction of an inch and instead hit the cliff to the right, causing a huge landslide of boulders. I thought I heard Silver cry out, but I bit my tongue, not daring to look down.

"Don't…you think this is a bit much?" Dark snickered, panting and gesturing at the war raging below us. Dark had somehow manifested clouds of darkness that acted like warriors, fighting against the many assembled machines and humanoids. "Really, Star, I'm only one person. Are you not even strong enough to fight me on your own? Or perhaps that Master Emerald power of yours is failing, hmm?" She was trying to unnerve me, but it didn't hit home. She was too much shaken herself, too weak.

"No, I'm just smarter than you are, Dark," I replied, my eyes meeting hers steadily. "I realize what's a danger and what's not."

"You really think so?" She cocked a mischievous eyebrow at me.

I pulled her by the neck and slammed her against the cliff wall. "Yeah, I'm pretty damn sure," I snarled in her face.

"Stop being foolish, Starlight." Dark rolled her eyes. "Just stop it right now. Stop convincing yourself that you can defeat me, because the truth is that you really can't." Her blood red eyes seemed to see right through me, as if she was staring at a piece of my soul. "I'll always find a way; I'll find a way to come back, even stronger. You can try all you want but you'll never win. It's just not your destiny. Destiny's never really been on your side, has it?"

I growled, tightening my grip against her. "I'm stronger than you now, Dark, and I know that. You're outnumbered and you're weakening. You can't escape this time."

_That's what you'd like to think._ Her voice reverberated through my head, and she grinned maliciously. _But go ahead; try it. Hit me with your best shot._

I raised my palms but she was expecting it and she swung out her left fist, catching the right side of my neck. I was dazed momentarily and shoved my elbow into her shoulder, loosening her grip on my arm. My wrist popped painfully back into place, causing me to yelp in surprise, and from some distant part of my senses I heard Shadow shout, "Duck!!"

I immediately obeyed, stooping as a Chaos Spear shrieked through the air and scathed Dark's arm, drawing fresh new blood. She bellowed something unintelligible, and fired a landslide of caliginosity upon the ebony hedgehog. There were screams, and I realized suddenly that one of them was my own, but before I could take action, I felt bloody fingers grab my shoulders.

Dark was behind me. I was too overwhelmed to get in a good punch, as she closed her gloved hands around my gullet and tried to strangle me. I gasped for breath, tossing and turning and trying to jerk my way out of her grasp. I blasted light at her feet, and we were suddenly both falling out of control, towards the impending doom beneath us. "You can't win, Starlight!" Dark screamed over the roar of the battle. "We're too much alike! You'll never be happy; it will all come back to haunt you in the end!"

I closed my eyes, letting the energy build up inside of me. Flashes of what I was fighting for darted before my eyes. I saw my brother and Blaze; Silver and Amy. I saw Shadow, his eyes still barely open, blood pouring from the wound in his chest. I saw my mother and my father, holding a small, yellow toddler and a cobalt blue baby. I saw Kael, with his hands encased in Chaos energy, and he was laughing, filled with joy at something I couldn't see. I saw the two Metarex from earlier, who I now knew weren't Metarex at all, but were somehow a part of my past. They were standing atop a cliff, both of them fighting off Dark's shadow manifestations with passion and incredible focus.

And then I saw him. I saw Knuckles and he was grinning at me, as he leaned against my locker at school. He was wearing a black polo and khaki shorts, the aviator sunglasses pulled up on his head. He was telling me something but I couldn't hear him, because it wasn't real. But I could see him as clear as day and my chest swelled, my entire body surging with energy.

He placed his hands on my shoulders and grinned at me, nodding. Then he slung an arm around my shoulder, drawing me closer to him and my cheek was pressed against his chest and I was in blissful oblivion.

And then it was all leaving my body in a magnificent wave of incandescent light, slamming Dark into the cliff with such force that a crack formed along its rocky surface. For the first time since I'd known her, something equivalent to that of fear flashed through her eyes. I was rising, slowly, the light pouring out of my palms and raining down on her, each one like a physical punch. The darkness of the night was swallowed up in the everlasting light, as it stretched across the horizon, taking the moon and the stars and everything with it. And then I pressed it back in and I was suddenly an inch away from Dark, and my hand was over where her heart should have been, if she even had one.

"It's over, Dark. I've won," I whispered, and the light pounded out of my fingers, piercing through Dark's skin and causing her to scream in a surreal amount of agony. Her body writhed beneath me but I pressed on, tears rushing down my cheeks. She was screaming, her voice fading with the billowing flames and the shining light that seeped into her chest. She was slowly disappearing, her fur turning to sand that ran down her legs, and then her arms were missing patches. Her eyes darted to mine and my heart stopped as, for a split second, the blood red eyes turned to a horrible, familiar shade of ocean blue.

"You'll never win," she croaked, her voice hardly audible beneath the hammering of blood in my ears.

And then her body condensed to nothing but a shadow and it sifted through my fingers, disappearing into the darkness of the night.

I fell to my knees, staring at the ground, my eyes wide, my chest heaving.

It was over. It was finally over.


	20. Epilogue

**POV: Star**

I had always disliked funerals.

No, scratch that. I had always _loathed_ funerals. Though, I suspect few other people think it's a very happy-go-lucky experience either.

I stood there, surrounded by people I had come to love, as a coffin was slowly lowered into the ground. Every single thing, every single _damn_ thing about this, felt wrong. Every nerve in my body was either numb or twisted in such a way that the pain was unbearable. Of course, I wasn't totally convinced my nerves were a part of my body, or that _I _was a part of my body. I felt separate and detached from everything.

The coffin was white. A satin, ivory lace sort of white, the kind that would stand out even in snow. The outer edges were made of marble, while the main body was made out of sturdy white wood. Some distant part of me registered the fact that _he_ was in there. But then I remembered that he actually wasn't, exactly. I didn't know where he was. I wanted to believe he was in heaven. But, so far, things hadn't exactly been going the way I wanted them to, now had they?

A pastor was saying a few phrases at the foot of the large hole the gravediggers had created. I couldn't really hear him, though. I wasn't focused on much of anything. I was watching as several men finally finished lowering the coffin. I felt someone's hand on my shoulder, but I didn't turn to see who it was. Sonic, probably.

Sonic. Was he all I had left? Was he my only reason for living now? I had destroyed Dark; I had had my revenge. So why didn't I feel more accomplishment? Why didn't I feel like I had fulfilled my duty, like my purpose was finished? Why did I now feel like there had never really been any purpose in the first place? Like Dark had simply been an inconvenience that had just happened to slip into _my_ life?

This was all wrong. I was supposed to be distraught, crying onto Blaze's shoulder while Amy clung onto my arm. I was supposed to be falling to my knees and weeping, like a good little heartbroken girl. And I suppose, in a mental way, I sort of was. I was smart enough to at least know that I was going a little crazy, just standing here watching them bury Knuckles in the ground. But my body made no movements; my knees were locked and I was an unfeeling statue.

I had always loathed funerals.

* * *

**POV: Leader**

Time passed. Star was still standing there, even after everyone had left the cemetery. I was standing atop a hill, watching the scene from above. I was not dressed in my battle armor, but instead wore something more casual, a pair of jeans and a black V-neck t-shirt. I was trying the best I could to appear non-threatening; Star didn't need another scare.

Kael quivered behind me, looking up anxiously, studying my face. "Mo—er, Leader?"

I cringed, as I heard him trip over his words. I turned to him, saying harshly, "Go home, Kael. It was a very brash thing you did last night; you were ordered to stay home and you did not."

"But I made Star stronger!" he protested, edging completely out so that he was standing before me. "Because I showed up, she was able to fight Dark better—"

"I don't want to hear it," I growled. "Go home, Kael."

The small red echidna looked back at me fiercely, that same strange fire reflected in his eyes; the same as his father. Jesus, he looked more like Knuckles every day. Then he whirled on his heel and stalked away, growling under his breath.

I heard Tara approaching me. "Leader, you shouldn't treat him so harshly," she said softly, trying to manipulate me instead of offend me. It wasn't working. She probed at my mind gently, and I instantly put a wall up.

"Tara, Kael very well could have been killed Star last night, distracting her that way. And he just about killed me too. He will be punished as I see fit," I said sternly.

"But, Leader, he was only doing it out of affection. He sees Star as a sort of…step-mother, give or take. Because you won't show him the affection he wants—"

I cut her off right then and there, whirling on her and pulling my lips back over my teeth. "Taralyn, you will not speak of my relations to Kael. He was to be my son, but, as I have said multiple times over, that possible future is void. He belongs nowhere now and he will soon disappear. You know that he is now nothing more than a hologram."

That statement made Tara's fur bristle. "He is much more than a hologram," she argued. "He is very valuable, a source of information, a genetic research breakthrough, and a very kind heart." Her tone suddenly softened as she quietly, but fiercely added, "A few years ago, you wouldn't be acting this way. You would have loved a son, Iris."

The use of my real name was enough to let the harsh snarl rip from my teeth. "Tara, you will call me Leader and nothing except Leader, are we clear? I can easily demote you and promote Reeves. Perhaps he would be a better partner," I tacked on, and I saw her wince. Yes, I had touched her weak spot. I was her only true friend. If she were to lose me, she would be back to her childhood days, where she was nothing but a freak show.

"…Yes, Leader," she complied reluctantly, but I could hear the disagreement and the disappointment edging her tone.

"Come," I said, the words a strict order. I grabbed onto a tree branch and swung my legs over it, landing on the ground smoothly and efficiently, several feet below where I previously was. Dirt scraped along my leg as we continued down the hill this way, until we reached the cemetery gate. Star was just turning around, most likely preparing to leave.

She caught sight of me before I could make another movement towards her, and I saw her breath catch. Her first instinct still saw me as a Metarex; as a murderer. I ignored the slight flash of hostility that came across her face and I moved towards her, opening the gate without glancing at it.

The yellow African Pygmy was standing almost protectively by Knuckles' grave. Her hands were spread out and slight bits of energy sparked along her fingers. I couldn't keep from snorting. As if I would do anything to harm the grave. _Knuckles meant something to me once too, kid, _I felt like telling her. But that would be useless and nothing more than a waste of time. So I continued to keep my steady, even pace, with Tara on my heels, until I was only a few feet away from Star.

She looked at me with a mix of fierceness and patience. I suddenly realized that this experience, the death of Knuckles, the destruction of Dark, had changed her. She was hostile, but she was empty. She wanted an explanation. I knew that even before she opened her mouth and said, "I want to know why. Why Dark came to me, if she was just an experiment. How she was just an experiment. I want to know if, how, and why I'm an experiment. I want to know why Knuckles had to die. _If _he had to die. I want to know why you look like the Metarex that killed my parents. I want to know why Kael is real, and why I dreamed about him when I was about to die." Her voice was rising and her fists shook, the energy growing. "I want to know if there was even a fucking reason for any of this."

We stared at each other, cold green looking into sharp lavender.

"Come with me," I finally said.

"We have a lot of catching up to do."

* * *

_Author's Note: It's…finally…finished…_

_Good God. I've actually finished a fiction. Um, huzzah?_

_Alright, now a few little thank-yous:_

_-Thank you SO MUCH for everyone who reviewed! Not only did you help me reach 100+ reviews (WOOT!), but you also greatly encouraged me, and I really appreciate that._

_-Special thanks to the author, Black Cyrus. Bud, you were the very first person to review this fiction, and you have stuck with it through every single ridiculous chapter. I cannot thank you enough, because I seriously would not have continued this fiction if you hadn't of reviewed. :) _

_There will be a "Sneak Peek" chapter tacked onto the end of this when I get the chance to write it. As for when I publish the sequel, 'Light'…that might take a while. I want to make it good; unlike this fiction. So please be patient; it will get published eventually._

_Thank you so much, again. Gah, I'm so excited! :D_


	21. Sneak Peeks for Light

_**Author's Note: **__Alright. Here are the ideas that I have, so far, come up with for the sequel, Light. It is likely that I will use most of these ideas. However, they are certainly subject to change, and I might even take a totally different course if I get a different idea. But, to fill your little heads with something to think about, go ahead and use this for now. ;)_

* * *

**-Sneak Peeks for Light-**

* * *

**POV: Star**

"Well, I suppose it's about time you figured out what's been going on," Leader told me, shifting herself into a large, comfortable-looking chair.

"Yes, I'd say so," I replied dryly. I remained standing.

Leader pulled at her shirt collar, getting herself comfortable. For some reason, this infuriated me-I had waited all this time to finally hear answers, and here she was, stalling to position herself delicately on her posh velvet cushion. I bit my tongue to keep myself from muttering obscenities.

Finally, she looked up at me and said, "I suppose the first and easiest question to answer would be Kael. You want to know why Kael was in your dream and why he's also here in reality."

I nodded simply, not meeting her gaze.

"Why**,** it's simple. Kael is here because of supernatural abilities, like your ability to manipulate light. Kael is here because of time travel, along with an extraordinary ability to enter one's mind," Leader answered, taking a sip out of the tiny coffee cup located beside her.

"That doesn't really explain much," I muttered in reply, my eyes following the coffee cup as it moved to her mouth.

Leader set the cup down and turned to look at me directly. "Then you're going to have to listen really hard, aren't you?" She asked pointedly, crossing her legs and looking at me with those sharp, piercing eyes of her. They could cut through steel, those eyes. "Because, Starlight, none of this is going to be real easy to hear, or real easy to believe. It's going to sound downright crazy. But I suppose you've gotten used to that in the last few months, haven't you?"

I snorted. She could say that again.

"So I want you to sit down. Make yourself comfortable, for God's sake." She rolled her eyes, gesturing to the couch in front of her. Then she focused back on me and said, "Because if there is one thing I can assure you of, it's that this will not be an easy conversation."

* * *

**POV: Star**

I was dreaming, again. Knuckles was there, like he always was. He was sitting at the edge of a cliff this time, his legs dangling over, watching a sailboat on the horizon. The sun was going down, and it cast its rays upon the cliff with a bright, beautiful energy. I walked towards him, like I always did, even though I knew I wouldn't reach him. This dream would be the same as all of the others. I would take slow, steady steps, as if I were trying to track a deer through the woods and I didn't want to frighten it. I would walk until I was close enough to touch Knuckles, and then the moment my fingers grazed his shoulder he would disappear, and I would wake up sweating, gasping for air again. I would then get out of bed, wash my face, stare at my reflection for a minimum of five minutes, and go back to bed. On a bad night, the whole process would simply happen again.

And yet, I walked towards him anyway. It was like a magnetic pull; it always was like that. It didn't matter that I knew what was to happen; the _dream_ didn't care. It dragged me towards him, lifting each foot. One. Two. Three. Slow, muffled crunches of my shoes on grass.

I sat next to him. He turned to me and smiled, of course. I reached out, and he was gone.

I woke up, my face buried in my pillows. I wasn't gasping, but I was sweating. Again. I closed my eyes, exhausted, tired about everything. My eyes moved to where my bedroom door was. I thought of how Amy was just down the hall. She had moved in with me, I think because she was worried. I don't know why she was worried. I could deal with the truth, now. It had taken me a long time. But I could look at the truth, and face the gut-wrenching pain that came with it. I could take it and I could bear it. Maybe. Oh, I don't know.

I rolled around in bed, wiping my hands along my cold, sticky face. My eyelids fluttered open again, looking towards the edge of my bed.

I nearly screamed.

A hand shot out and covered my mouth. I squirmed for a second, until my eyes really took in the silhouette of the figure above me. My eyes widened.

"Knuckles?" I breathed, but I didn't think he had heard me, as his hand was still clamped over my mouth.

I blinked at him, completely nonplussed, sure that I was dreaming again. But…I was touching him, and it _felt_ real. But not right. Why didn't it feel right?

He stood up, and some strange, tired part of my mind registered that he looked slightly older. His back was more rigid, and his eyes were cold. Slowly, he slinked towards the moonlight, moving with a cat-like grace that I would never, ever have before associated with Knuckles. But it was him; I was absolutely certain it was him. There was no one else who had those sharp dreadlocks or that long snout. And, of course, no one else had the two spikes located on each of his hands.

I watched as he first allowed his hand to enter the beam of moonlight that bathed a section of my room. My heart pounded in my chest, for a reason I couldn't explain. The hand inched further and further until I could see the fur of his arm.

That was when I realized it was black. Knuckles wasn't black. He was red.

And then he stepped fully into the moonlight, grinning at me.

He was black, certain, unarguably black. Completely black, without a hint of crimson. But his eyes…_they_ were red and they were cold and sharp and unsettling. Not a sign of the old ocean blue.

He slipped off his glove, revealing the skin of the two spikes on his hands, and he put a finger to his mouth, telling me to be quiet. I stayed frozen, staring at him. I had never had this dream before.

And then he came so that he was on top of me again, with his finger pressed against my lips. I searched his face for any kind of the old smile he used to give me, but he was no longer in the moonlight and the only thing I could really see was the deep red of his eyes.

Then I saw his hand raise and I was under again, already dreaming a new dream.

* * *

**POV: Leader**

"…We were wrong," Tara told me, her eyes wide and terrified.

"How? How is it possible?" I blurted out.

"We missed the one crucial point."

"What? I don't understand; all the calculations were exact! She's a perfect model!"

"She's like Sonic."

"What? What do you—" And then I understood. Of course.

She was like Sonic.

* * *

**POV: Star**

"You aren't moving fast enough, Star. This is pathetic."

I whirled around and kicked the dummy, slicing it in half with a fierce slash of light. Sweat dripped down my brow. I had had enough of this.

"Then I'm going home," I snapped at Leader, swinging my towel over my shoulder. "This is ridiculous. There's no reason for this."

"Like Hell there's no reason for this."

I turned on her, snarling at her, showing the most disrespect I possibly could. I hated Leader. I hated the way she carried herself. I hated the way her eyes could see through my soul, the way she could stand perfectly calm when someone was practically spitting in her face. "Then tell me!" I shouted. "Tell me what's going on! Tell me what the reason is! I'm sick and I'm _tired_ of you keeping secrets from me! Tell me why there is a reason for this. Tell me why I have to bust my ass for you every day."

She stared at me for seconds, or maybe minutes, I'm not sure. Then she grabbed my wrist, and started dragging me along. "You want answers? I'll give you answers," she told me coldly, coolly, and we stepped into the lab.


End file.
